Neal nails his colours for Olympic team slot

In this Olympic year, Northland Black Stick Shay Neal's ethos is "don't die wondering".

He plans to give 110 per cent to every training session to try to secure a berth in the New Zealand men's hockey team, who are destined for great things at the Games in London.

The 21-year-old has put all his energy and efforts into making the Olympic squad, which men's coach Shane McLeod will name in June, ahead of the Black Sticks trip to Australia to play some build-up games.

Neal is one of the youngest and least experienced in the training squad but he has come along leaps and bounds over the past year.

The law student played at the 2009 Junior World Cup where New Zealand finished fourth and last year played his first major tournament for the Black Sticks at the 2011 Champions Trophy, where NZ also finished fourth.

Neal, who has 22 international caps, impressed McLeod with his recent performances on the field and in fitness testing, with his unorthodox approach often baffling defenders.

Despite his youth, Neal said he is confident he will be part of the Olympic squad, selected from an experienced training group.

"I have to be confident - otherwise it's not worth putting all this time and effort in," Neal said.

The Black Sticks recently gathered in Auckland to train as a group several times a day, which at times has been tough, Neal admitted.

"We have a very intense programme, including around eight hockey sessions and three strength and conditioning sessions per week, with a couple of games thrown in there too - so all these hours have to be benefiting us.

"Personally, this would be the most training I have done in my life, so my body is in the process of adapting to the workload - but so far so good," Neal said.

Knowing the workload would be huge, Neal opted to study only two law papers this semester, which has enabled him to fit training and study in reasonably well.

However, Neal was happy to sacrifice time at the mouth watering prospect of being part of a potentially medal-winning team.

"After our last top four finishes at top competitions there is definitely an expectation from within the squad to do well," he said.

The last and only time the Black Sticks men won a medal was in 1976, when NZ, including Northland's Neil McLeod and Arthur Parkin, beat Australia for gold in Montreal.

Meanwhile, in 2008, NZ finished seventh in - Beijing. The Black Sticks know they have to beat the odds to medal in London, but Neal said the team were dealing with the mounting pressure from the public - and within the squad - to succeed.

"Pressure comes with the territory. We don't listen to pressures that might be voiced from outside the team environment. We put pressure on ourselves as a team, which helps us to focus on the day to day programme and overall goal to medal," he said.

While Northlanders, including Samantha Harrison, Charlotte Harrison, Stacey Michelsen, Alana Millington and Ella Gunson, make up a fair portion of the Black Sticks women's contingent, Neal is the sole male from Northland representing NZ. He was hopeful it was the start of a resurgence of the men's game in Northland.

"I think men's hockey in Northland has been very strong in the past.

"However, what Northland has been lacking in recent years are more of the 18 to 25-year-old guys (which is generally when your in your prime for the sport).

"Most are leaving the region for university and other work experience," Neal said.

It was important to return and compete for Northland in the National Hockey League when he could, despite being based in Auckland, he added.