FACEBOOK x GRYPHON HOCKEY x OFFICIAL

Gryphon now has its own Facebook page where you can keep up to date with everything Gryphon and a whole lot more.

So either click here to view or next time you’re on Facebook, search for Gryphon Hockey and check out our official company page (but don’t confuse it with the Gryphon Hockey Group page created by some fan somewhere!). Be sure to click like if you are down with it!

Cheers, The G-Team.

BACK TO REALITY x BEGGERS

It’s been just over a month since we won the World Cup and since then we’ve had a bit of time to rest and reflect. I returned to work 2 days after the WC final and have been working full-time since. The first week back at work was tough, especially with the rest of the boys still celebrating most days and nights. During that break I didn’t pick up a hockey stick or partake in much physical exercise, which I am now regretting as we get back into full training. The AIS program recommenced on Monday, and my life now consists of hockey… work…hockey…sleep… hockey… work… hockey…sleep. With the club hockey season underway again in Perth, there is some form of hockey on every day of the week. The boys leave for the Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia in around 3 weeks. I’m not playing in this tournament so I can be around work a bit more, particularly with a busy hockey calendar in the second half of the year. The depth of Australian hockey will be on display with a young team being selected to compete and I’m sure the boys will get the job done.

The Australian Hockey League (AHL) is just around the corner and most states are in preparation for this. Throughout this tournament we will be trying out a new rule which basically does away with short corners. Instead of the conventional short corner set up, the attacking team has one person to push out, and 3 players on their attacking 25. The defensive team has 2 defenders and the goalkeeper. Once the ball is pushed to a player on the attacking 25, it’s basically a 4 on 3 (including GK). I’m sure a lot of short corner post-men are happy about this change…but don’t think I can say the same for the drag flickers.

Now that the AIS has recommenced I’ve had a chance to catch up with all the guys, and also reflect on the WC with them. It was a bit strange after winning the WC, as we were on the plane a few hours after, and once back in Perth everybody went there own way. A lot of guys went over sees to their Dutch clubs, whilst others returned to their home states to see family. I think an official function is in the making which will be good for everyone to get together and celebrate the win, something we haven’t really been able to do yet.

Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying their hockey wherever they they’re playing. You’ll hear from me again soon.

Beggers

HERE WE GO AGAIN x SHUBY

Well, how time flies!  It’s been just over a month since that memorable night in New Delhi.  World Champions!  I’m sure I’ll never get tired hearing people say it and nobody can take it away.

It brought back so many memories of past victories and none more so than that of the Olympics back in 2004.  Total elation and just reward for the amount of effort put in on the training track and time spent away from friends and family.  I was young and early in my career back in Athens and those first few seconds/minutes after winning were such a blur.  So much so that I had to wait to watch the reply to see what happened.

This time around I was lucky enough to be involved in the play during the last few minutes and especially in the last 30 seconds.  It seemed to take forever but as each of those seconds passed my excitement grew stronger and stronger.  I clearly remember seeing 5 seconds left on the clock when Simon Orchard passed me the ball. Four, three, two, one, I counted down in my head.  I then picked up the ball, knowing that we were then World Champions.  It was something that I had dreamt of doing.  Holding the ball up at the final whistle.   It’s a moment at that time that I’ll never forget.

In my last post I shared a moment from Beijing saying that I had made a promise.  A promise to win the World Cup.  And let me tell you, I’m glad I got to keep it.   It was by no means an easy feat.  The Kookaburras had finished runners-up at the previous two World Cups and had only won it once, way back in 1986.   Therefore I know when looking back at my career when it comes to an end, that this was one very special night.

It has also been brought to my attention that I’m only 1 of 5 Australian players to have won each of the four major hockey titles at least once. That being the Olympics, World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Champions Trophy.  The others are Rob Hammond, Liam DeYoung, Jamie Dwyer and Mark Knowles.

Training started back up again with the usual testing week to kick things off.  Always very interesting after a bit of time off the track, but it’s good to get back running around again.  It’s going to be a very busy six months until the completion of the Commonwealth Games and I look forward to sharing the ride with you.

Later, Shuby

PHOTO DC IMAGES | DANIEL CARSON

WC10 INDIA x DC’s TAKE x PART 2

Part 2 of my Post-India Blog deals with some of the India experiences, an aspect that the players didn’t have the luxury of exploring as much.

Part 1 can be read here and is about the Hockey and Security around the event.

The World Cup in 2010 was in New Delhi, India. Personally I have always wanted to go to India and experience from what I have heard as exceptionally unique. Delhi has a population of around 17 million, which is not all that far off the entire population of Australia, and around 9 times that of my city, Perth. So you imagine the chaos and wonder that such a city offers.

Let’s face it. Our western diets and hygiene don’t prepare us for what a place like India and its brilliantly famous tasty food allow for. It took only one day before my first “Delhi Belly” kicked in, and as quickly as I got over it, the second round hit. The second was much harsher with fever, chills, etc… It was time to break the Anti-biotics.

Once I was over this hinderance, it was time to walk, hit the markets, culture and the unbelievable food. Eating from little restaurants buried deep in the city and its sidewalks as well as a stall or two is always the best way to experience the real food culture. India doesn’t disappoint. The vegetarian options are more common that meat and, well better.  The “Sweets” trade appears to be a massive obsession for the food culture, and entire areas are dedicated to a myriad of different varieties.

On the first Monday, it was a public Holiday in India, ummm called… well.  HOLI day.   True story.  It basically means the Festival of Colours or Spring Festival.  It has a religious basis and a great story. What makes it amazing for someone like me is that it’s about colour.  Throw colour everywhere, on anything and anyone. It’s incredibly beautiful.

Monument and Tombs – A massive part of what we as foreigners see of India.  The Taj Mahal being the big one.  In Delhi, India Gate is the main central place and monument right in the centre.

India Gate is a massive park with a monument. This is a war memorial that commemorates the lives of soldiers that died for the British Empire during World War 1.   What it seems excel at now is cricket.  The entire area around the gate have been turned in literally dozens if not into the hundreds of make-shift and proper cricket pitches.  People of all ages come to have a hit and play a social game.  In actual fact it’s chaos with the pitches being barely 10-15 meters away from each other.  It’s also a great place to hang out in general and see the youth of India, something which you don’t tend to see in central built up New Delhi.

Taj Mahal.   The big one.  One of the Wonders of the World.  Getting there for sunrise is supposedly the thing to do.  So at 1am another photographer and I took a 5 hour taxi trip to Agra, where the Taj is situated.  There’s not a lot to say except it was worth it!   We were there for sunrise and the Taj put on a show for us.

Throughout the trip numerous walks and trips around Old and New Delhi were made to get out of the confines of the Hotel and Security. From markets to food stalls, to further monuments it was all a learning experience and all it does is add to the huge and amazing tournament that the World Cup of Hockey brings.

CONGRATS x GRYPHON WORLD CHAMPS

Well they’ve had a few days to let it sink.  Those of us that were watching on the TV, reading news reports and talking about the games here at Gryphon HQ would like to formally congratulate the latest and World Champion Ambassadors for Australia and Gryphon.

Kiel Brown (WA)

Graeme Begbie (WA)

Rob Hammond (QLD)

Fergus Kavanagh (WA)

Grant Schubert (SA)

Photos: Daniel Carson | DCIMAGES.ORG

WC10 INDIA x DC’s TAKE x PART1

Well, I’m back in Perth and recovering from an amazing 17 days in India, and one brilliant night.

I know I’m not an elite Hockey player and maybe what I have to write is not interesting for you, but I think some of you out there may like to see and hear what the World Cup in India 2010 was like from someone outside the teams

My roles in the World Cup are many with the primary directives being within official Media, mainly as a photographer but as well as to some of the guys in the teams as “that damn guy with the camera who’s not cooped up in the hotel!” My ability to have more freedom than the players gives me a different outlook on the event away from the fact that I’m not an elite hockey player giving everything I have for the World Championship.

Part 1 of my post-World Cup blog will be about the event itself and the security and controls that went with it.  I am also open to people commenting here with questions for me to answer and hopefully add more insight to what goes on around the Hockey world’s largest tournament.

The Stadium in New Delhi is a totally revamped existing structure. Personally I have never seen anything like it for Hockey. A place that over 16,000 people can cram themselves into and scream for their team in Hockey is nothing short of awe inspiring and unique in my experience. The amazing thing is how quickly the stadium fills, and without notice. One minute you are looking at a game and about 1/3 of the seats are full, then you turn around to check why your ears are hurting and the place is packed with flags, face paint and screaming.

The Hockey itself?  I am hoping that many of you were able to watch some of the games, listen to broadcasts, watch some highlights or just read about it.  It’s a long tournament with each team playing between 6-7 games each in a period of 13 playing days. Funny enough on the surface it would appear less taxing than say a Champions Trophy where the teams play 5-6 games in 10 days. A big difference is that there are 12 teams in the World Cup, that’s a lot more organising, a lot more team preparation, a lot more of everything and from what I saw it took its toll on the teams.

In my personal opinion on a whole, the quality of hockey in Melbourne was more exciting and faster, better for the neutral spectator than this World Cup. Of course when the event burrowed down to the final few games the level increased, but I think there is something about having the best 6 teams in one place, in one concentrated time. That said, a highlight game for me England v Germany in the Semis where I believe we saw some great hockey and classic “sport” emotions.

Security, what was that like?

Going into this World Cup, a lot was said, done, discussed, debated, acted upon, speculated, joked about regarding the security issues of the event. Having a directly targeted threat on the India World Cup was not what it needed only days before the first game. It was to be expected that the security would be pretty high, and well it was.

The official hotels were fortresses. The player’s hotel from the front looked like a prision with high walls, razor wire, a billion cameras and sniper nests. I’d loved to have taken photos but early on I was threatened to have my camera confiscated by the police taking a photo of a building.

To get into any World Cup venue (hotels, stadium, etc…) you’d need to have your car checked with underbody mirrors, all boots and bonnets opened and gizmos with noises waved over the contents. Once through there, you personally had to get through something like an airport security checkpoint more than once, all surrounded by many army or private security with large guns.

To get into the Stadium as Media, I had to pass through 4 metal detectors, be frisked 4 times, pass through 1 x-ray screen, have my bags opened and manually checked 1 to 2 times, be tested for explosive residue finally have my credentials read over, and double checked 5 times while all the time passing commandos and sniper nests.

The hotel I was in wasn’t too much different and as an Aussie I had two armed men at the front of my corridor at all times. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My room was checked every day by experts and the staff were overseen when doing the room service.  It all was a little overwhelming to start with, but once you got used to it, it became welcoming and you could really see that the organisers really thought about the issues coming to India very strongly.

Where does it leave the event for me?

It’s the World Cup.  Everything worked eventually and smoothly.  Good and great Hockey was played and it was a safe event.  Really what else can you ask for. We were there to cover the Hockey and that was done.  The players were there to play, and that they did.

Part 2 will be about what I was able to do and see outside of the Hockey specifically, things that many of the players were not able to.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned, and remember feel free to comment and ask questions.

DC

AUSTRALIA WORLD CUP 2010 CHAMPIONS

There’s not a lot to write when so much emotion pours out through a group of players who have put so much into this one night. This one day. This one game.  This one moment.

One moment in time. One moment when the final whistle is blown.

Australia wins the World Cup in Two Thousand and Ten.

They defeated the youngest team in this tournament but also the team that has stopped them in their tracks two World Cups previous. This time the Kookaburras achieve what Ric set out to do. Grant Schubert keeps his promise to win the Cup.

It’s over.  Australia 2.  Germany 1.

DC

Photos: Daniel Carson | DCIMAGES.ORG

WORLD CUP FINAL YEW! x BEGGERS

What a game!

Our semi final victory over the Netherlands last night was the most nail biting game I’ve been a part of. With just 8 seconds to go the game was still in the balance. Thankfully we managed to hold on to earn our place in the World Cup final. If you’d told me this time last year that I’d be playing in a World Cup final in a years time – I would of told you to get off the drugs. But its happened, and now I, and my teammates, have a chance to fulfil a dream.

Just before heading out onto the pitch last night, our coach Ric said “Anything worth having in life is not easy”. An opportunity to win a World Cup is definitely worth having, and I now know its definitely not easy. One of the best things about playing a team sport is the comradery and the lift you get from your teammates around you when the pressure and need to win increase. This was definitely evident last night in the semi final. Everybody lifted and gave that extra 10% when it was required, and I know this will be magnified in the final come Saturday.

Our opponents in the final are Germany – a great team, world number one, and we have seen what they are capable of. However, we’re confident that if we stick to our game plan and play to our potential we can win the game. Let’s see what happens…

Beggers…

Photos: Daniel Carson | DCIMAGES.ORG

WC10 x 5-6TH PLAYOFF x SPN v S.KOREA

A battle of the “unlucky” is what was in place for us for the last game of the night and last non-medal play-off.

Spain came home strong in their pool by beating England and missing out of the Semi Finals narrowly. They weren’t as close to making the Semis as their opponents in South Korea, who missed on a goal difference.

Both teams won their last games and South Korea started to look the team that makes them so feared in hockey tournaments. They looked fresh, cool calm and ready to go.

Looking ready isn’t enough, cause you need to move with that look and Spain broke out of the blocks and scored in 40 seconds of the first whistle.  It was stunning. Simple.

Spain controlled the first half completely and totally. The typical run of the Koreans was taken away from them by very close man marking at the back. No space was allowed to any Korean player and the Spanish backed their player’s skill one on one.

Before the half time break, Spain scored once again to take a 2 to 0 lead.

The second half was a different game. The Koreans are a team that is too disciplined to hang their heads and started to take control of the ball.  Their signature counter wasn’t there, but they tried their hand at a more structured game plan.

The Koreans had a lot of control of the ball but no matter how many chances they would take into the circle, they weren’t able to convert. In actuality Spain was able to release their forwards and Gryphon striker Juan Lainz Abaitua was found free on more than one occasion creating some genuine chances.

There was no more score added to the final scenario.

Spain finished the tournament well with 5th, but ranked 3rd before the World Cup.

South Korea ends up 6th, very close to their world rank of 5th.

Tonight was also the swan-song of Spain Xavier Ribas, who played his last international game and was able win captaining his side to a win in the World Cup 2010.

Photos: Daniel Carson | DCIMAGES.ORG

WC10 x 7-8TH PLAYOFF x ARG v IND x VIDEO INTERVIEW

Play-off Final number two of the day placed two teams playing above their rankings. The winner of this game finishes the World Cup 2010 in 7th place and loser 8th.

Coming into the World Cup Argentina were ranked 14th and India 12th.

The form of Argentina is on a consistent upwards curve through the progression of the tournament. India, even though they have had a good start and great crowd following in their own cauldron, their form hasn’t been overly convincing.

Cauldrons of the past week was not present tonight for the home team, although a great crowd can still be found and their voice as loud as any. It would be the last time we’d see the home crowd chanting in their own way for their own team.

Argentina was able pressed the “silence” button in the 28th minute to take the lead which would be held into the half time break.

India’s game plan of forcing a turn-over and then run, run, run sprint and run towards goal was not deviated from.  The Indian team has many brilliant individual players with skill that you’d have to witness with your own eyes to comprehend.

It was from this skill and forward push that the Argentinians were not able to deal with properly legally and gave the home team a Penalty Stroke cooly converted.

That was the 42nd minute.

We were amazingly treated to a flurry of goals as Argentina banged home a completely dominant three goals in three minutes. Gryphon Legend of the game, Mario Almada was instrumental in all of the goals scored.  You’d never know he was thirty-four years of age as he carved up the Indians through his run and delivery into the circle. The final of the three was a brilliant run to the baseline by Almada who then flicked it for a quick deflection for the team’s 4th.

India was able to pop in a goal only three minutes later, but that was the end of the goal-fest and Argentina defeated India, the hosts 4 – 2.

Argentina lead by previous Man of Match, Almada, finishes 7th, a clear five places over their world ranking.

India falter at the line and end up 8th, but still better than their 12th ranking.

Mario, the humblest of men, tried his best to answer my stupid questions in English. I really need to learn Spanish before the Women’s World Cup.

Personally it was a serious pleasure to have a quick chat to Mario.

Photos: Daniel Carson | DCIMAGES.ORG

Next Page »