HOCKEY - New generation keen for Collier hit-off

Collier Trophy hockey runs in the Parkes bloodstream and that makes this week a big occasion for the family.
On Sunday, when 12-year-old Keegan Parkes played her first match in this year's tournament at the Whangarei Hockey Stadium, she was proudly supported by her mother and grandmother both of whom have done it all before.
Grandmother Sonya and her twin sister Sharyn were in the Northland team that won the title in Hawera in 1967. Northland went through unbeaten without conceding a single goal - a tall order for Keegan and her teammates to try to match. Perhaps Keegan didn't have much choice but to listen to the advice of her mother and her grandmother in the lead-up to the tournament but she could always plead the rationale of childhood rebellion that times have changed - and she would probably be right.
"Our tournament was in Wellington and we were one of the first teams to play on the new hockey turf down there, up until then everyone had played on the grass," Trina said.
Trina is still playing; she was a member of the reserve grade champions Tutukaka Tornadoes scoring more than 20 goals for the season.
Keegan's mum continues to coach her daughter and the Glenbervie junior teams and it seems likely they won't have to wait long to see another Parkes at the Collier Trophy, with 8-year-old Tayla the next in line for honours.
The tournament's quarter-finals are on Thursday and the final on Saturday.