THE Stewart sisters from Gerringong may have set some sort of family record after all three were selected in NSW hockey teams for upcoming events.
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Grace, Lilly and Demi will head off in different directions for various events run by Hockey NSW and NSW Primary Schools Sports Association (PSSA), keeping mother Mandy and father Scott on the hop.
“It seems as though we are always going to a hockey carnival here or there – and our son, eight-year-old Hamish, asked recently if our next family holiday could we go somewhere else but to a hockey tournament,” Mrs Stewart said.
“In fact he hopes to go to Perth with Lilly in September. I think he heard there is good surf or something over there.”
The next few weeks will be a blur for the Stewarts, with Demi off to Adelaide this week to represent NSW PSSA in the national titles Grace will then head off to Hobart for the national all schools titles.
Lilly will represent NSW hockey in the under-13s in Perth in September while Grace represents NSW under-15s at the nationals in Canberra.
Grace will be joined by close friends Riley Wishart and Chelsea Ford, while Luke Taylor, also from Gerringong, will represent the boy’s under-15s. Kelsey Wishart is also in the under-15s development team.
Demi and Lilly are thrilled about making their first state teams, describing it as ‘‘exciting’’.
Both hope to follow in Grace’s footsteps and gain further honours.
As well as starring in hockey, Grace is also making a name for herself in touch football, starring in the NSWCHS team’s success in its annual tri-series against combined Catholic colleges and NSW independent schools, leading to her selection in the NSS All Schools under-15s for the national titles in Brisbane in October.
She is also a member of the NSW under-18s squad.
Like many talented young sportspeople, Grace may have to make a decision on which way to go in sport but she is emphatic that she enjoys hockey more.
“We have been watching the hockey at the Olympics and there are probably more chances to go further in hockey and besides that I enjoy it more.”