Heroes of Hockey I Jasmin Burns

Smaller Perth clubs require a heavy volunteer-based effort to make them what they are, and to continue their growth. Jasmine Burns is one of many cogs that keep Old Guildford Mundaring Hockey Club ticking and building as a club. With a diverse base of roles, she has found herself in competitions, team management and committee positions. She does it for the love of the club, and a passion for the game, one that began when she was just a child.

“Growing up, my Dad was a shift worker, so my sisters & I would often find ourselves on the sideline of Mum’s games all year round – not that we ever minded in summer as we’d often find stray hockey balls lost in the bushes at Joondalup to add to our collection.

It’s not that we were never given the option to play another sport, I don’t think we ever wanted to.

Junior hockey for us was back when all Junior Girls teams played at Yokine Reserve, so Saturdays were always jam packed with hockey.

Living in Bullsbrook we’d often be trying the leave the house by 7am – as an adult I now know why Mum’s coffee was so important, even if it meant risking getting stuck behind the oversized trucks on the highway!

I have no doubt this is where the strong sense of club culture you see in senior players today has come from, I’d often start my day learning to umpire my younger sister’s game at 8:30am, before playing my own then either filling in for Mum’s senior team or doubling up for the boys in the afternoon.

I got pretty well acquainted with the old street directory that’s for sure – even now if I’m carpooling to a game with my sister, I’ll be called on to navigate well before Siri!

When I moved to Old Guildford Mundaring Hockey Club as a senior it was partly because of location as well as having friends that were already playing here.

Since making the move, I’ve loved how unique we are compared to other Premier Grade clubs, while we might be small it gives us the chance to build a family-like atmosphere.

If you want to, you can know every turf player by name, and even most of those in our grass teams.

We often cop flack for being so far away, to the point that we’ve had teams hire a bus to get to the turf, but we make the most of it especially with our postseason/Silly Saturday celebrations and having so many great venues within walking distance of our club rooms at Lilac Hill.

This year I am stepping up as OGMHC’s Competitions Coordinator and Men’s Premier 1s Manager, having previously acted as Women’s Coordinator and manager of our Division 5 Women and Premier 3 Men in the past as well as on sub-committees for Juniors & Social Events.

Being able to see something come together and knowing you’ve played your part, is one of the reasons we volunteer.

In 2020 our Premier One Men debuted a (much needed) revamped playing strip, for a small group of us it was a labour of love to get the strip across the line against COVID production & delivery delays as well as having every shirt personalised not only in time for Round 1, but for every debutant since – even those late Friday night inclusions for Saturday matches.

To an outsider they see a more aesthetically pleasing uniform, but for the team involved knowing, we’ve played our part in starting a change in culture and giving our younger players something more to strive for, is a reward in itself.

OGMHC certainly wouldn’t be able to function in the way that it does if it wasn’t for people like Kara Naughtin (wife of Men’s Turf Coordinator & Premier 1 Captain, James Naughtin), Heidi Ciriello (wife of Premier 1 Coach, Chris Ciriello), Ann Armstrong-Boase (wife of Equipment Manager & Shire Liaison, Rod Armstrong) and Danae Snell (partner of Senior Women’s Coach, Tim Pearce) to name a few.

The wives/girlfriends/partners are absolutely the unsung heroes of any hockey club, they make it possible for our players to play and allow our volunteers the time they put into the club and are often also supporting behind the scenes themselves.

I love that hockey has the ability to break down barriers and have everyone interact on a level playing field - whether you’re a male or female, junior or senior or from the city or country.

Having 15-year-olds playing in the same team as 55-year-olds can teach life skills that aren’t always on offer in the classroom or workplace.

OGMHC are in a privileged position based at Guildford Grammar School, in that we’re able to have boarding students getting involved in club life, ensuring they’re not missing out when they’re away from home, whether it be just as a junior, as a junior playing senior grades, for extra training, to ball-kid our Premier One games or even just to support.

We’re incredibly lucky in the WA hockey community to have the access to the calibre of players & coaches that we do.

The professional & personal experiences that they’re able to share with our developing players is so rare and invaluable.

I mean, in what other community sport, in Australia or worldwide, would you be able to share a roadside burger with an Olympian and former analytical coach of a National Team, as a normal occurrence?”