FORMER Ramblers and Namibian national hockey team star Trevor Cormack is credited as one of the players who have catapulted the local game to its current heights.
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, he spent some of his youth in South Africa (SA) before he arrived in what was formerly known as South West Africa as a 20-year-old.
The former South West Africa Territory Force (SWATF) cadre is renowned for his dedication and commitment on the hockey field.
"I started playing hockey in Zimbabwe where it was quite a popular and highly competitive boys' sport. My hockey development was disrupted briefly, because my high school in South Africa only offered cricket and rugby.
"As a result, I see myself as a late developer, because I have lost a substantial amount of time trying out at cricket and rugby. Before independence, hockey was not really big, and only two schools, Centaurus and Windhoek High School, were seriously active," he says.
Cormack played for a team called Combined Banks from where he joined DTS before he and his wife, Shayne, joined Ramblers, which did not have a hockey club at the time.
"Ramblers didn't have hockey, and Shayne and I, together with Luke Pennefather and his wife, Silke, were among the first players to start a men's and women's team, which would go on to dominate the league . . .
"We started at schools, and I was coaching at Emma Hoogenhout Primary School while coaching the Ramblers women's team as well," he says.
The former men's national team skipper joined Windhoek Old Boys after leaving Ramblers before he and his wife founded Saints.
Cormack was part of the first national team which engaged Zimbabwe in an international friendly during 1990's independence celebrations.
He also starred for Namibia at the Africa Zone Six tournament in Malawi, while he was an integral part of the Namibian team at the sixth All Africa Games in Harare in 1995.
WORK, FAMILY
Cormack is the co-owner of K5 Sports CC, which is a family hockey development business.
He also has a stake in Be.Still Coffee Cafe in Klein Windhoek.
"My wife and I are professional hockey coaches, and that is what we do for a living. We are coaching young players in the different age groups under K5 Sports CC, and we ensure they are exposed to top-class competition in South Africa.
"We own the three Pro-Series Indoor (PSI) franchises - the Hawks, Eagles and Cranes . . . The players participate in the annual PSI event in South Africa," he says.
The Hawks are composed of an elite group of K5 development programme players, while the Cranes are strictly made up of players from the coast to give them their own platform to operate from.
Cormack and his wife have two daughters, Jerrica and Kiana-Che, who have both played hockey at the highest level for both the junior and senior national teams.
"Coaching is my life, and I don't think I would want to do something different. I have worked in the corporate world where I have also enjoyed a lot of success, but I am happy I have made this switch to working with young children.
"Apart from coaching youngsters we also teach children the better values and principles of life. Being a coach is definitely by choice, and I have made a conscious transition from part-time to full-time coaching," he says.
Cormack says the lack of support from the local hockey controlling body is challenging, despite K5 developing top-class players for the various national teams.
He says Namibian players, especially those from the indoor hockey teams, have closed the gap between Namibia and South Africa since they are able to compete against SA now.
Apart from coaching the K5 juniors, Cormack is also the current coach of the men's national team, and will always be remembered as the first Namibian coach to have qualified the women's team for the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Poznan, Poland, in 2011.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The former national team captain says his outlook on the game has changed from his days as a player.
Cormack, who says he misses playing at the highest level every day, wishes he could have had the state-of-the-art playing surfaces today's children have.
He says he dreams about having his own high-performance facility one day.
"There is no shortcut to success in life, it requires hard work and a whole lot of commitment to get to the top of your game. I captained Namibia to the best of my ability, and I worked really hard to achieve whatever I gained during my days as a hockey player."
His advice to young players is: "Apply every positive thing to your game. Know your values and principles as a player. Apply everything you do with integrity and high values. If you want to become a professional one day, start living and acting like a professional now."
