HOCKEY: Brother gave Shea stick

ANENDRA SINGH
When the skills of rugby have been passed down from one generation to another in a family, what are the chances that a child will succeed in a different sport - such as hockey?
Pretty good, it appears, if you are the McAleeses from Napier, according to Black Sticks men's player, Shea McAleese.
Eclipsed physically in height and weight by his elder brother, Jonathan, the young Shea knew he didn't stand a chance when it came to pillow fights, let alone in the funny-shaped ball game. Instead, he channelled his energy into refining his soccer and cricket skills and, consequently, making the age-group Bay teams in those codes.
With Dad Dan - then 40-something - helping Jonathan as a goalkeeper in the nets, Shea rubbed his hands with glee when invited to shooting practice sessions with his elder brother in goal.
"I'd come down, get my stick out and fire away. My brother and I had quite a big rivalry and I'd enjoy trying to hurt him.
"Yeah, I always scored. I tried breaking his bones too but . . ." says a grinning Shea, "recharging his batteries" with family in Napier and fulfilling his 200 hours a year of duty at the Kelt Capital Hawke's Bay Hockey Academy during the Queen's Birthday weekend.
The grand opening of the revamped Park Island hockey facility is scheduled for July 1.
However, Shea believes the healthy sibling rivalry was vital in moulding him into a talented midfielder who has represented his country in 28 test matches.
"Jonathan is really proud of me. Whenever he watches me play he'll still pick out things to work on and he'll still be there on the sideline giving me crap. It's brotherly rivalry and I appreciate him for that.
"He's six foot, 300kg - he's a big boy and a rugby player and he'll always be a better rugby player than I'll ever be. The only benefit he has is that I'm only 5 foot 11 inches. Although he'd beat me up in the bedroom I always beat him up in the hockey field," Shea says of Jonathan, 25, who now lives and plays rugby in Melbourne.
At a time when Hawke's Bay was not even a blip on the radar when it came to hockey on the national grid, Shea salutes his 52-year-old father for his higher honours.
"I credit a lot of that to my old man, helping me out and pushing me a little further. I was lucky enough to get spotted when I was at under-18 level," he says.
The tribute to other relatives flows. There's manager/aunt Liz Walsh for the sponsorship drive, Uncle Joe McAleese, of European Cars, in Napier, Grandad Joe McAleese, of Marton.
"They haven't really followed hockey that much but when I got better they have been supportive financially," says Shea.
Mum Margie is a "stern supporter".
After shifting from Port Ahuriri School to Nelson Park School as a standard four pupil that Shea first got into hockey. Napier Intermediate and Colenso High School followed.
Colenso High School principal Michael Cleary and other teachers, such as hockey coach Peter Exeter, were instrumental in allowing students to have the freedom of playing any sport they wished.
"I enjoyed more waking up to hockey. Other than being good at it, I was quite a flair type of player.
"Since then it has paid dividends," says Shea, who made Bay age-group sides and spent three years in NZ Under-18 teams while still at school.
Canterbury University at Christchurch beckoned with hockey fathers favouring Canterbury, Wellington and Auckland as key centres for selection into senior national teams. There, Shea played High School Old Boys Burnside but his first season in the National Hockey League came in Northland's colours.
"I made the New Zealand Development side and it meant not sitting on the bench for Canterbury to play in the position I wanted," said right half who secured a berth for Canterbury the following two seasons and also made the New Zealand Academy.
However, it wasn't until he went to play for Tasmania last year in the Australian Hockey League, "the best league in the world", that men's national coach, Kevin Towns, picked him for his first tour in Malaysia for the Azlan Shah Trophy.
Tasmania lost 1-0 to Queensland, boasting eight Australian gold medallists, in the final. Striker Shea top scored for Tasmania with four goals from seven matches, with Cantabrian Hayden Shaw bolstering the side.
The European tour of France, Belgium and Holland followed and he made the best 18 cut for the Oceania Qualifying series against Australia in Fiji.
Based in Auckland, Shea realised his dream of Melbourne Commonwealth Games selection and was part of the historic World Cup qualifying victory in China in April, something Shea says is secondary only to New Zealand winning Olympics gold in 1976.
"It was such a good rap for the boys and all the hard yards we put in, considering the disappointment of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games."
His next goal is now to make the World Cup in Germany in September.