Dane Lett was always likely to be a star on the sporting scene.
One of six new caps named in the Black Sticks men's hockey team to play Japan next week, the now 24-year-old was, as they say in horse racing circles, bred to succeed.
His father Bernard was a tenacious halfback who made 116 first-class appearances for Wairarapa-Bush in rugby, including the golden era of the 1980s when they won promotion to what was then called the national first division competition, while mother Karen was a standout on the netball courts. She was in the Wairarapa senior squad while a year 13 student at Kuranui, repped for Wellington under-21 while doing teacher training and was a non-travelling reserve for New Zealand under-21s. She then returned to Wairarapa and again appeared for the senior rep side on numerous occasions, many of them as captain.
And then, of course, there is John Lett, Bernard's father, who was an outstanding rugby player, regularly repping for Wairarapa through the 1950s and earning an All Blacks trial in the process.
Dane, and his younger brother Trent, 22, initially looked like they would make their mark in rugby too, showing promise in the oval ball code right up to their attendance at Wairarapa College where, for reasons Bernard can't recall, they eventually turned their attention to hockey, and enjoyed it so much they have stayed with it ever since.
