The New Zealand Men’s Vantage Black Sticks flew to Spain last week to play the Spanish national team in their last piece of preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. When they boarded the flight, each player and staff member knew that they were as prepared as they could be going into these final warm up games, and they achieved this sense of confidence having known that they left no stone unturned.

Their last training camp took place at the Hawkes Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust (HBCFCT). This intense and targeted training camp aimed to maximise their chances of returning to New Zealand with an Olympic medal.

Led by Greg Nicholl, a Hawkes Bay local, and assisted by local former Olympian Shea McAleese, the team chose the facility for its comprehensive resources. HBCFCT’s ‘one-stop-shop’ nature, with onsite 60 bed accommodation hostel, training pitches, state-of-the-art performance facilities, meeting rooms, and aquatic centre, provided an ideal environment for their final preparations for the Olympic Games.

The camp began with an inter-squad warm-up game featuring talented young aspiring Blacksticks from the region, as well as HBCFCT residents Olivia Shannon and Kaitlyn Cotter. A large crowd watched the game at the Sports Park, giving local talent a chance to compete against top-level players. One Lindisfarne pupil remarked, “It was fast.”

Greg and his coaching staff conducted training sessions on the pitch over the week, just a short walk from the Graeme S. Avery accommodation hostel. This proximity allowed for efficient use of meeting spaces for analysis sessions and quick returns to the field. The team also used the Performance Gym for strength and conditioning, with local squad members Sean Findlay and Dom Dixon familiar with the facilities from their time in the Te Tūranga Athlete Development Programme.

The NZ teams medical team ran carefully planned return-to-play sessions on the indoor track for players recovering from soft tissue injuries. Although they were not blessed with the traditional Hawkes Bay weather, the team felt the heat by putting on team conditioning sessions within the EIT Sports Performance labs’ heat chamber. This allowing the athletes to perform multiple sessions that would replicate the conditions they would likely face in Paris. They endured gruelling workouts on watt bikes, ski ergs and assault bikes in 34 degree heat and close to 70% humidity, followed by recovery sessions in the Aquatics Centre led by Head of Performance Nick Webb. “We are trying to replicate the week in Paris with our training and conditioning work to acclimatise the players to the conditions they will experience overseas, so there is no great shock to the system” Webb explained.

In addition to their rigorous training, the team made a mission to give back to the community which has been hit so hard the past few years by the cyclone and flooding. Experienced squad members Kane Russell and Blair Tarrant conducted an athlete Q&A session in the onsite Conference Room – The Heretaunga Room, with the Te Turanga Athlete Development members and wider sports community.  They gave insights into how they prepare, shared advice that they would give to young players and described what it’s like at the Olympics and in the famous Olympic village.

Assistant coach Mike Delaney engaged with students from Wairoa College through the HBCFCT’s Education Outside the Classroom program. Although the planned hockey training session was called off due to the rain, Mike spent time with the young pupils and answered their questions, with the students also getting the opportunity to meet the players and get their hockey sticks signed after the squad completed one of their gym sessions.

McAleese, a participant in HPSNZ’s coach accelerator program, delivered a workshop to local coaches on ‘Overcoming Fear and Boredom in Sport’. Nick Webb gave a session to Te Tūranaga Athlete Development and Royston Gym staff, providing valuable insights into the Blacksticks’ training programme.

The players and staff also made full use of the facility in their down time, with players being able to relax and shoot hoops on the basketball court and the onsite café- The 13^th Stag, becoming the local spot to chill out and grab a coffee. In between training sessions, the coaches had an opportunity to show off their skills and competitive natures with multiple games of pickle ball on the half court space.

After an action-packed week, the coaching staff reflected on their time at the HBCFCT facilities, saying “the support and opportunity to be able to train at this world class facility has been crucial for our preparations. We would love to turn this into an annual event as the support we have received from the staff alongside the facilities have made this an amazing experience for our staff and players.”

We wish the NZ Vantage Black Sticks all the best in Paris.