WITH the start of the Riverland Hockey Association season being postponed until June, a local family has found a way to still enjoy the game they love.
The Loffler family, who live just outside of Waikerie, have built a hockey pitch in their backyard to help keep their skills sharp as they wait for the local season to begin.
Eldest daughter Aaliyah, 15, and 12-year-old Latia have both represented SA in junior hockey, while 9-year-old Callie plays locally in the Riverland.
Their father, George Loffler, said the idea began with much smaller plans, before all hockey was postponed across the state due to coronavirus, with that prompting him to take the idea to the next level.
“The original idea was to have a small piece of turf that the kids could move a hockey ball around on effectively,” he said.
“It was going to be something really small, because I had a bit of concrete and I was going to stick it on top of that.
“End of 2018, start of 2019 I said for a Christmas present I would get them a small piece of turf and we put that in.
“We got the turf here early 2019 and that kicked off where it was just going to be a little thing.
“Then I guess late last year I thought instead of having the little piece, we wanted to go for something a bit more substantial, so I was working to get a piece of pitch that went out as far as a hockey circle does, which is 16 yards.
“Then I was starting to progress towards that pathway, then the coronavirus came along and that spurred me into action a little bit.
“Now we have ended up with a hockey pitch 11 metres by 17 metres.
“It went into full steam ahead about six weeks ago when this all kicked off and the girls were in trouble with what they could do with their hockey and keeping their skills sharp.”
Mr Loffler said while plenty of hard work has gone into getting the pitch up and running, he has more plans to grow the project further.
“Probably 100 hours of work or so have gone into it,” he said.
“We have still got a few little bits and pieces to tidy up, but we are starting to get pretty close.
“It is certainly at a point where they can play on it, it is just the finishing touches around the outside edges and tidying a few things up.
“One of those finishing touches is my brother is an electrician, so we have decided we are going to put lights up on a couple of poles around the pitch, because the days are getting shorter.
“That way the girls can go down there to practice and we can have a few night hockey tournaments down there as well.”
Mr Loffler said the pitch will help his daughters maintain their skills as they wait for competition hockey to resume in South Australia.
“Both the girls play for a club in Adelaide called the North East Hockey Club,” he said.
“They put teams in just about every grade down there, so last year Aaliyah played under 18A’s and towards the end of the season she started playing in the senior side.
“They play in Metro 1 and that is a pretty high standard, the only one above that is Premier League and that is what she is aiming for this year – to play Metro 1 and a bit of Premier League.
“That is the highest standard of hockey in South Australia.
“When the whole coronavirus thing came it stopped Aaliyah’s state training with the under 18 women’s squad.
“It also stopped all the other trainings in Adelaide, so to keep her eye in I need to get this thing finished.”
Mr Loffler explained the process of creating the playing surface.
“We put down a rubble pad to give it a hard surface and level it off,” he said.
“It’s then got a high-density, woven foam type stuff, which is the under lay and that has a little bit of spring in it so it isn’t a rock-hard surface.
“Then it’s got FIH (Federation of International Hockey) certified surface on top, so the girls can practice any aspect of the game.”
Mr Loffler said the pitch also has a social aspect, as well as the competitive side.
“We have had a few times where we have had the whole family down there playing games of keeping it off each other and stuff like that,” he said.
“We are a bit of a group of hockey tragics I guess you could call us.
“It is good fun and for us it is a family thing.
“A lot of our kids’ friends are involved in hockey as well, so part of the plan with this at some point is to get everyone to come up and have a barbecue and a good time playing some hockey.
“That would be cool if we can make that happen when the whole coronavirus thing is over.”