For Sam Lowndes, finding out he had been selected to the Australian Junior Men’s Under-21 squad came as a big surprise.
The 17-year-old was named in the Burras’ squad earlier this week, the first time he has been picked for a national side.
After travelling to Queensland for a hockey camp on the Gold Coast, Lowndes said the news came as a shock.
“I felt surprised, I felt great,” Lowndes said.
“I was really happy. All I knew was I was going to the Gold Coast for a camp to play a bit of hockey and all I ended up in this squad. It was a big surprise and it made me really happy.
“I honestly didn’t have much idea. I was one of the youngest there, so when I came back from the trip I was happy.
“I’m still 17, so I wasn’t expecting to go into the under-21s, but it was good and it’s the first time which was really exciting.”
Lowndes and the under-21 Burras will travel to Perth and play in curtain raisers when the Australian men’s team, the Kookaburras, take on Malaysia later this year.
He said he could not wait to hit the pitch for the Burras.
“It’s quite a new experience for me and it’s really exciting, I always enjoy going to that next level.
“I’m just pumped, I love hockey. I just love being around hockey, it’s awesome. Especially all those years off, it’s been really good for me.
“Obviously there hasn’t been much hockey over the last couple of years, so it’s just good to finally be part of something that big especially.”
It will be a busy few months for Lowndes who will also head to Queensland for the under-18s state championships and then Western Australia for the under-21s championships in July.
Lowndes’ hockey journey started in his home town of Echuca.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he started playing when he was nine.
He first began playing with the Echuca-Moama Hockey Club, getting the opportunity to play with his father, Bryce.
“I started in Echuca and that’s what got me into it,” he said. “It’s a good club up there. It really got me into the sport and left me wanting more.”
“He (Bryce) used to play himself I used to watch him and I even played with him a couple of times,” Lowndes said.
“It was very interesting, but he got me into the game so it was really good to see both of us on the ground having a bit of fun, that’s probably the part that I really enjoyed.”
Growing up Lowndes was a two-sport athlete, playing hockey as well as football with the Echuca Murray Bombers. He said it was a tough call to chose hockey over footy.
“I loved my footy at the start, obviously I couldn’t balance both with the workload increasing with hockey,” he said.
“I think I was more successful in hockey and I think I figured out that I enjoyed hockey a lot more.
“Even though it wasn’t that popular in Echuca, I still found it really enjoyable for myself, so I continued on with that.”
His hockey journey has now taken him to Melbourne, with Lowndes and his family moving there last year.
Lowndes plays for Camberwell in the Victorian Premier League while studying at Maribyrnong Sports Academy.
He said he was hoping the move to Melbourne would help him continue his hockey journey and take his career to the next level — the world stage.
“Moving here really opened up my opportunities and helped me get to this point and it’s been really good for me.
“That under-21s was my goal. Obviously I got there but in the future I want to look towards going to maybe a junior world cup or the youth Olympics.
“For my long-term goal, I have always wanted to play in the Olympics so that’s a big dream of mine.”
When it comes to hockey, Lowndes said his favourite part of the sport was competing.
“I love getting out there and giving my hardest, it just really gets me up and about being with mates and all the technicalities to it,” he said.
“I enjoy the increase in the challenge and the ability to keep learning and even learn heaps more about the game and just that better competition it just keeps getting better and better, which is really good.”