Heroes of Hockey I Brianna Rennie

Hockey isn’t just a hobby for some, it’s a lifestyle! It’s where their friends and family are, and most of their free time is spent on the sidelines in one way or another. Brianna Rennie was lucky enough to meet her now-husband Ben through the sport of hockey, as well as some of her closest friends! It is a prime example of just how hockey can bring people together.

“My earliest hockey memory would be watching Dad play hockey on a Saturday afternoon.

As kids we would go to watch or play in the playground and get to know the other kids, who a lot are still around the club and playing today!

My parents got me and my brother into hockey at a young age as hockey was the sport Dad always played.

I started Minkey when I was nine and have played every year since.

My family is very involved in hockey both on and off the field.

Dad now plays over-60’s, my brother still plays, and mum has only just given up hockey, after picking up a stick for the first time in her 50’s!

Off the field, Dad is the Facility Manager at Melville, my brother was the Treasurerfor the facility including the clubrooms redevelopment and Mum has been a Team Manager since we were kids.

My husband Ben also plays, although for another club and is now in the Kookaburras Squad.

Hockey is a huge part of our lives.

I was the kid on the edge of the A-team most seasons, so I played a lot of hockey in A-reserve or B-teams and absolutely loved it.

Being one of the stronger players in the second team, I played in positions I really liked, got plenty of game time and built a lot of confidence which really helped me stick with the sport and be the person and player I am today.

Between school and uni, I also found hockey a great physical and social outlet, and still do today.

In a way I was forced into volunteering at Melville because my dad was so involved.

He started as Minkey Coordinator and then moved into Junior Coordinator and always needed help.

I umpired a bit as a junior for pocket money and coached junior teams for a number of years while I was studying.

It has been great to see some of these girls still playing hockey today and some alongside me!

I have been involved in the Women’s Program at Melville since 2013 and have been Women’s Vice President for nine seasons now which involves everything from organising players, coaches and umpires through to admin with Hockey WA and social media.

I also managed an Indoor State Team in 2020 and was a Technical Officer for Premier League, some National and also International competitions for a few years in my early 20’s.

The family community at [my club] Melville is great.

I can walk into the clubrooms any day of the week and have a great conversation and laugh with someone from the club.

Within the women’s program, we don’t solely focus on the Premier Teams and the majority of our Middle and Lower teams then make finals each year and the majority of our players and groups of friends return.

I have personally played finals for the last 7 years!

Our new clubrooms are amazing and I am so appreciative of the committee that came together to bring this dream to life and give us a home.

Our overall volunteer base are amazing and we work really hard as a group to support each other from juniors, to seniors and masters and off field through finance and social media.

The professionalism of our various committees is really helpful.

As volunteers we have the autonomy to make each role our own and our Presidents are always looking for ways to make our roles easier.

Through this volunteer role I’ve had some great opportunities personally.

A highlight would be being selected to attend the Women Leaders in Sport Workshop with Sports Australia in 2019 which was a great program for my personal and professional development.

Seeing success of the club, particularly the women’s group is really satisfying and in my role having the autonomy to make decisions and try to improve year on year.

I also get to work a lot with two of my best friends who are currently in key roles within the junior girls and women’s programs and this helps make the role not feel like a job or chore and just a part of life.

Hockey in my opinion is a sport truly for all ages and abilities.

Our members at Melville are boys and girls from age 4 up to women and men in their 70s and all equally love the sport.

My mum started playing hockey in her 50s with no experience at all.

Dad is now still playing in his 60’s.

At Melville we have nine Women’s teams and with the way we split our teams into three squads, we really get squads and groups rather than just individual teams together, for trainings and support.

Our new clubrooms built in 2020 have been extremely helpful too, for the club to really have a ‘home’ for everyone and to be able to run all different social events to bring the whole club together.

Hockey in WA is such a big community and you really can make friends for life.

You will play in different grades and against different teams all through your hockey career so you can meet and get to know a lot of people.

As a volunteer you get to spend time with even more people and generally people with similar interests.

Hockey is something that personally brings my family together and it was through hockey connections that I met my now husband Ben – quite a common occurrence in the hockey community!

You can’t predict what is going to happen day to day in life but you can always turn up to hockey each week and know you’ll have a great time.”