HE’S put a carpentry apprenticeship on hold and moved to the big smoke.
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Aaron Kershaw is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to scale the heights of the hockey world.
The NSW under 21s captain is poised to line-up for his country in this year’s junior Hockey World Cup and join the likes of Jamie Dwyer and Glenn Turner on a tour of Europe next month.
But there are weeks of hard-work in between now and a trip to the Northern Hemisphere and months of good hockey before the World Cup.
That’s why the 20-year-old isn’t taking any chances.
He’s moved from his Goulburn home to South Hurstville and spends most weekdays training at the NSW Institute of Sport.
And while he’s clearly well regarded among selectors – Kershaw captained New South Wales at the recent national under 21s championships – he’s no certainty to be picked.
“It’s close. They [selectors] don’t give anything away,” Kershaw said.
“You don’t know where you stand.”
Australian selectors this week name a junior touring party to accompany the Kookaburras around Europe.
The young Australians will play matches against the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The tour is a pre-cursor to December’s under 21s World Cup in Mumbai, India.
Everything Kershaw does, from moving to Sydney to shelving an apprenticeship, is made with one eye on the World Cup.
He needs to keep working overtime at the NSW Institute of Sport headquarters in Homebush and churn out strong performances for the Canberra Lakers in the Australian Hockey League, to be contested this October.
Kershaw will line-up alongside Olympic bronze medallist and fellow Goulburn resident Glenn Turner in the Canberrabased outfit.
He could also join his esteemed colleague, along with a third local hockey product in Josh Miller, on next’s month European tour.
It’s an opportunity, should he be afforded, Kershaw will take with both hands.
“We’ll get a good look at the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany – they’ll be thereabouts in the World Cup,” Kershaw explained.
“Plus we’ll learn how the Kookaburras go about their business. It’s a good opportunity.”
Kershaw was last month earmarked as a likely representative of Australia at the junior World Cup.
His performance at the national titles in Brisbane was so good he made a preliminary 25 man squad.
That 25 will be cut down to 16 in time for the December tournament.
He’s determined to use every minute of those six months to stake his claim for an Australian call-up.
