Blake both hockey star and stalwart

When he was awarded the Brian Maunsell Memorial trophy for service to sport nine years ago, Trevor Blake was asked how hockey had become such a massive part of his life.
"Well," he said, "It was just that one thing led to another."
As an understated summation of a sporting career that belies belief, it took the cake.
Trevor Blake, TB to his mates, was a true Northland sporting fanatic, a man who not only achieved to the highest level as a player but also as a coach and administrator.
A representative cricketer good enough to play, albeit briefly, for Northern Districts, TB made his most significant contribution in the game he loved most - hockey.
Blake, from Whangarei, played hockey for New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He later went on to coach and select New Zealand and Northland teams and was a life member of both New Zealand and Northland hockey bodies. He first played for Northland (then Whangarei) as a schoolboy in 1955 and made his New Zealand debut in 1961. He continued playing for Northland until 1971.
During his time as a Northland player, he won two Challenge Shields, the pinnacle of provincial hockey, once outright in 1966 and again in 1967 when Northland shared the trophy.
Immediately after retiring from playing he started coaching, taking the reins of the Northland team in 1972, and became a national selector in 1975, a position he held until 1988.
He returned to help the Northland team once more in 2001, when the provincial side was without a coach.
But despite such a massive personal contribution to sport, one of Blake's proudest sporting moments came in 1996, when he witnessed the Northland men's team win the Challenge Shield.
Blake scored a goal when Northland won the shield in 1966 and was there to watch his son Andrew score a match-decider in 1996. Trevor and Andrew are still the only father-and-son combination to have won the Challenge Shield.
In fact, TB's connection ot Challenge Shield hockey was not only remarkable for his appearances as a player, coach and manager. TB was justifiably proud that he managed to witness every Challenge Shield provincial hockey tournament for 35 consecutive years.
As a measure of his dedication to his sport, and his passion for Northland, that probably said it all.
Trevor Blake died last year aged 67 after battling cancer. He is posthumously inducted to the Northland Legends of Sport.