Hockey: NZ men to wear armbands in honour of former player

1.00pm

The New Zealand men's hockey team are expected to wear black arm bands in memory of Northland hockey legend Trevor Blake when they play Korea at the Athens Olympics tomorrow (NZ time).

Blake, a former New Zealand player, coach and selector who played for New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, died at his home in Whangarei on Monday.

Blake, 67, died after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He was a life member of both the Northland and New Zealand Hockey Associations and a former Northland player and coach.

His death came as a shock to current New Zealand men's coach Kevin Towns, who was a personal friend.

New Zealand Hockey chief executive Ramesh Patel said the New Zealand team would most likely pay tribute to Blake by wearing black arm bands when they play tomorrow.

Patel, who is at Athens with the New Zealand men's and women's hockey teams, said Blake was "an icon" and a "legend" of the sport who would be sadly missed.

"Trevor has been an icon of hockey, in New Zealand not just in Northland, for years and years.

"Obviously he was special as a player himself and as a player who was under him when he coached the New Zealand team at the World Cup in 1988, I only had respect for him," Patel said.

"Trevor was a coach who was innovative but he was also a very hard taskmaster, and in some ways very old school," he said.

Blake's funeral will be held in Whangarei tomorrow.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)