Rising star is closer to goal

By Tania Martin
ERIN Jones is a step closer to realising her dream of playing for the Hockeyroos.
The Emerald rising star has just been named on the Victorian Primary Schools Sport Association (VPSSA) Victorian girl’s hockey team.
“It’s really exciting,” Jones said.The School Sports Australia Championships will be held in Newcastle from 9 to 14 August.
Jones will play six games with the Victorian team, pitted against some of the toughest competitors in the country including champion favourites New South Wales and Queensland.
Jones, 12, has played hockey for almost three years and says she was inspired by her mother.“Mum used to play and we had a clinic at school and I really like it and decided to give it a go,” Jones said.In her domestic league, Jones plays for Berwick’s Casey Cannons. She went up against some stiff competition to make it on the Victorian team but in the end proved too strong.
Jones was chosen out of more than 100 hopefuls to field a 14-girl squad.
But she is no stranger to hard work, training up to five hours a week for both state and domestic competitions.
She looks to retired Hockeyroo, Nikki Hudson for inspiration and also dreams of one day playing for Australia. “I would love to compete in the Olympics and win gold,” she said.
But she knows it’s going to be tough.
“There’s a lot of competition … lots of girls play hockey,” Jones said.
She is looking forward to the challenge of the VPSSA championships. “It will be hard but it’s good to do something hard to get better and improve your skills,” she said.