Sweeney Preston is a hockey and athletics star and doesn’t appear to be slowing down in either. 72907 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Liam Twomey
SWEENEY Preston might just be a future champion of Australian Sport. The only question that remains is in what field?
The 13-year-old has experienced a dream run over the last few months that started with his selection for Victoria in the state hockey side.
Preston travelled to Queensland with his team-mates and – despite going in as underdogs – returned to his town of Seddon with a gold medal in hand.
“It was a great experience. It would have been great without the gold medal and just the experience but it was just a bonus that we won,” Preston said.
The tournament got off to a rocky start for the Victorian side, drawing with New South Wales 1-1 and needing to win all their remaining games to have a chance at victory.
They managed to win their next five games before coming up against Western Australia in the final round which proved to be the grand final.
The Vics shot away to a 3-0 lead but then had to fight off a late comeback from WA, which scored twice in the final five minutes.
“There was about a minute to go and we just ran it down into the forward half and we got a penalty corner and that sealed the game up for us,” Preston said.
“It was great. All the team ran out onto the pitch and we were just hugging and high fiving and everyone was smiling.
It was the best thing you’ve ever seen. The crowd went crazy.”
“We went into it wanting to win but to pull it off was another thing all together.”
Preston has been playing for the Footscray Hockey Club since he was eight and said the club is great at getting the best out of its junior players. He has also been involved in the state junior development program and played for the Western Zone representative squad team, the Western Wildcats.
Preston’s father, John said the Footscray Hockey program was outstanding for developing kids.
“They are one of the best junior clubs in Melbourne and they are very proud of their junior development. The kids really feel like they are part of something worthwhile.
They get very good attention there and they are really well looked after,” John said.
Opponents on the hockey pitch may struggle to catch Preston when he is in full flight and there is a good reason for that.
After returning from his triumph in the Vic jersey, he pulled on his school jumper and competed in the 4x100m relay at the state athletics championships, coming away with another gold medal for Williamstown High School.
“Hockey has helped a lot with my running. You have to be fit to play the position I do and to play hockey in general. It’s a lot of hard work but it all pays off when you can do other things like the running,” Preston said.
The sport doesn’t stop there though, with Preston also playing cricket and soccer. He said he wanted to continue to play many sports for as long as he could.
“Hockey is my main sport and running is a great thing to do but I’m hoping to continue both of them as far as I can go,” Preston said.
