2024 Future Black Sticks Announced
We are delighted to announce the 2024 U21 Future Black Sticks squads. The identification of players for the U21 FBS Squad and the Junior World Cup Qualifier in December will be ongoing through this year and players can be added to these squads at any point.
U21 Women - Paige Blake (North Harbour), Brodie Cochrane (Northland), Hannah Cotter (Hawke's Bay), Hannah Donald (Manawatu), Jaimee Eades (Canterbury), Kaea Elliott (Auckland), Greer Findlay (Hawke's Bay), Hannah Findlay (Hawke's Bay), Emma Findlay (Hawke's Bay), Kate Fraser (Wellington), Holly Hilton-Jones (Northland), Emma Irwin (Canterbury), Ella Leighton (Waikato), Arabella Loveridge (Auckland), Cara Morrison (Canterbury), Jayda Pawhau (Auckland), Riana Pho (Wellington), Tessa Reid (Canterbury), Ruby Roberts (Canterbury), Lucy Russ (Auckland), Annabelle Schneiderman (Otago), Georgie Shotter (North Harbour), Issy Story (Canterbury), Mezzy Surridge (Canterbury), Charlie Wills (North Harbour), Katherine Winter (Wellington), Ruby Worrall (North Harbour).
U21 Men - Aiden Bax (Tauranga), Owen Brown (Taranaki), Luka Clark (Northland), Dean Clarkson (Taranaki), Scott Cosslett (North Harbour), Tim Crawford (Canterbury), Benji Culhane (Otago), Jonty Elmes (North Harbour), Hayden Ganley (Northland), Javahn Jones (Canterbury), Sam Lints (Canterbury), Rocco Ludolph (North Harbour), Thomas Marchant (Auckland), Khalarn Mason (Bay of Plenty), Charlie Morrison (Canterbury), Gus Nelson (Canterbury), Hugh Nixon (Otago), Milan Patel (North Harbour), Ryan Parr (North Harbour), Xander Redgrave (Wellington), Bradley Rothwell (Waikato), Matthew Ruetsch (Waikato), Dan Torr (Otago), Patrick Ward (Otago), Jordan Whittleson (Canterbury), Matthew Wilson (Canterbury)
The recently held North v South U21 Series was the first event in the Future Black Sticks (FBS) calendar since the Junior World Cups in December 2023 and was an important one to reconnect the programme. While the results at these events were not what we wanted significant strides were made last year in having more time together which coupled with deliberate training in local environments is accelerating the development of our U21 players.
36 men and 36 women were selected from the Ford National Hockey Championship (NHC), where 255 of the 650 players are U21, and Vantage National U18’s. They are invited to attend National FBS camps and competitions. Identification happens over time with the combination of U18s, National Camps, NHC, and local training providing regular information for Associations and National Selectors on how players are tracking. This means that there is a wide range of opportunities for players to be identified at.
The North vs South series was a critical event in the hockey calendar. It provided an opportunity for the players who will form the core of the U21 National Squad to compete in high-quality matches. Delivered in alternate years to the Junior World Cups it is a check in on known players progression while offering new players a chance to put their hand up.
The next FIH Junior World Cup is expected to be announced in the coming months, planned for between July and December in 2025. This means now is the time to broaden the group, provide insight into lessons learned from recent Vantage Black Sticks campaigns and past U21 competition to inform the years training and games ahead.
With the NHC a critical part of the hockey calendar, so too this year will be the inaugural Premier Hockey League. This four-team franchise-based competition will further bridge the gap to the Vantage Black Sticks by providing top domestic competition, with the best Black Sticks and emerging playing alongside each other. It fits in nicely with the international matches the FBS U21’s aim to regularly attend, being the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia and the U21 Oceania Cup.
The FBS players will now return to their regional training environments to continue training and playing locally.