Ben Staines moves cross country to chase Australian dream

Goulburn's most talented twins routinely ran circles around their Canberra-based opponents, and quickly became touted as the future of local men's hockey in the process.

But two months ago, in order to give himself the best chance at breaking into the Kookaburras side, Ben made the decision to relocate to Perth.

Over the last 18 months, the 23-year-old has been consistently involved with the Hockey Australia Men's National Development Squad.

This has allowed him to play for Australia A sides against touring international teams, and even take part in a Kookaburras training camp with Olympic selection on the line.

HA's High Performance Unit is based out of the Perth Hockey Stadium, which also houses some of the best training and development infrastructure in the country.

Due to the logistical difficulty of travelling to Perth from NSW, particularly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ben decided a permanent move to the WA capital would make life easier as he continues to push for national selection.

"Over here, you get a few more opportunities," Ben told the Post.

"I'm in the same city that [the Kookaburras] are in, so any time they need numbers at training, they ask us. There's still a lot of work involved in getting to the next step, but it's a lot more convenient being over here in WA."

Uprooting his entire life, and that of his partner, Kate, was no small decision for Ben. But her willingness to take the chance prompted him to follow in kind.

"[I made the decision to move] in conversation with my partner, she was able to find work over here really easily," Ben said.

"Once she showed interest in moving over here, her work sorted out a job for her straight away.

"That's when I organised it from my end, what I needed to do with hockey clubs and my work as well."

It was far from a lone effort for the pair, and Ben thanked their families for their help and support throughout the moving process.

"I couldn't have done it without the people that I've got at home," he said.

"They're all extremely missed, both my family and Kate's family. We couldn't have done it without them and their support in getting over here. It means a lot to me."

Having spent nearly all of his life with his twin brother at his side, Jake said he is feeling the impact of Ben's departure.

"It's been fairly different, the whole 23 years we've been together I don't think we've spent much time apart," he said.

But the couple stay in near-daily contact with their families, and Ben said the quality of training over in Perth has already vindicated his decision.

"Over in Perth, you train with better guys even at the institute level," he said.

"I'll train a few mornings a week, and our training sessions have got 10-15 guys my age in it, which is a lot better for me and my hockey, rather than when we were back in Canberra and a bit limited on numbers.

"I've come over for hockey and that's all we seem to do is pick up a stick and train. It's definitely better."

The Kookaburras are currently preparing to play their first international match in more than a year against New Zealand at the end of this month.

With their 27-strong squad set to be whittled down to 16 ahead of the beginning of the Olympics in late July, Ben knows selection in the next few months is highly unlikely.

So, in the meantime, he intends to continue training, improving, and press his case for selection, particularly as the international schedule will resume a semblance of normality after the Olympics.

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