Australia: Australia’s Indoor Teams gear up for ‘Big Apple’ USA Tour

A blockbuster 2024 Australian Indoor calendar is well underway following a successful National Championships in January, which saw 122 teams across 5 divisions battle it out for the crown of Australia’s best indoor hockey team.

Relive the 2024 Australian Indoor Championships on LiveHockey!

Now, a men’s and women’s development team are getting ready to tour the USA, where the indoor community will converge on Philadelphia for a 3-day Big Apple tournament, spanning March 1-3. 

With just one year to go until the 2025 Indoor World Cup, it’s the first test ahead of many big events in the calendar, which includes the Indoor World Cup Qualifier, development camps and other international games, as Hockey Australia starts to focus on developing depth in the indoor side of the game.

Both teams will be spearheaded by a brand-new coaching team, with the experienced Brett Herrington leading the men and Lauren Austin taking charge of the women.

Herrington believes the tournament will be a great starting point to help gain an understanding of where Australia’s national programs need to start from. 

“I’m most looking forward to seeing the recent development in the US programs,” Herrington said. 

“They have invested a lot into both indoor and outdoor hockey programs in the last few years. It will be exciting for our athletes to play against new teams and systems they might not have encountered before, and it will lay a good foundation for international exposure and growth for Australian Indoor Hockey.”

In the women’s camp, Austin’s focus will be on the fundamentals, developing the speed of their game play, both on defense and attack, all while nailing comradery and togetherness. 

“This will set the standard for future world cups,” Austin said.

“It will allow the senior squad members to be a vital link of culture and team between some of our younger players and the current World Cup squad.”

Both coaches believe this is an exciting start to a year which is a new beginning for the Australian squads, who now have more opportunities, and they expect with this approach we will start to see growth in the indoor game beyond 2024.

“I’m excited at the talent that is coming through, but even more excited to be able to expose our athletes to higher levels of Indoor Hockey and build a team-based culture of athletes beyond the Indoor Courts,” Herrington said.

“We hope to be able to create a culture that we can carry through all 3 of the squads and allow everyone involved to see what to strive for, and the direction we are wanting to head as a nation, and that begins with The Big Apple,” Austin agreed.
 

The Men’s National Indoor Hockey Team

2024 Big Apple Tour, Philadelphia

The Women’s National Indoor Hockey Team

2024 Big Apple Tour, Philadelphia

The full list of 2024 Indoor National Squads can be found here