Sports stalwart thrilled to take field with grandson

‘It’s fantastic to play with your own children... to now play with my grandson is something else again.’

SPECIAL MOMENT: Ryan Knowles, 64, played for the first time with his grandson Cale Gardner, 14, in Southern Suburbs A2 team. Pictures: Contributed

HOCKEY: The first weekend of the Rockhampton Hockey season was a memorable one for Ryan Knowles.

The Southern Suburbs stalwart got to play alongside his grandson Cale Gardner, 14, for the first time in the A2 division.

The following day, he was awarded life membership of the Rockhampton Hockey Association and his wife and RHA president Barb received a long service award.

He rounded out the weekend by lining up again with Cale in the A1 men’s clash that night.

Ryan, 64, said it was amazing.

“I never thought I would be playing with one of my grandchildren,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to play with your own children and I got the chance to do that with my sons Brent and Mark.

“I won 17 A-grade premierships, one of them with Brent in 1994 and one with Mark in 2000.

“To have the opportunity to now play with my grandson is something else again.”

Mark Knowles played 325 games for Australia.

Cale impressed in his senior debut, slotting the winning goal for Souths in the last eight seconds of the A2 game.

Ryan said Cale put in a great effort and was incredibly keen, just like his legendary uncle Mark who played 325 games for Australia.

He also produced a strong showing in a tight A-grade clash, which Souths lost by one goal.

READ: Rocky hockey stalwart honoured for decades of service

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READ: Mark’s career is over but parents still invested in hockey

The family duo will have to wait at least several weeks to play together again with fixtures postponed until April 14 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ryan has played hockey in Rockhampton for 55 consecutive years, and also served as a coach, umpire and administrator.

He has been on the RHA management committee for more than 20 years and been facilities co-ordinator for 19 years.

He was on the organising committee for the 2006 Australia/Korea Test series and the 2019 Oceania Cup.

Ryan Knowles was awarded life membership of Rockhampton Hockey, while wife Barb received a long service award. Picture: Contributed

Barb has been involved in Rockhampton Hockey for more than 40 years in a variety of roles, including 13 years as president.

She, too, was part of the organising committee for the two international events.

She was instrumental in securing funding for the first synthetic turf built at Kalka Shades in 1996, as well as for its resurfacing in 2006 and for a second international standard field in 2019.

Ryan said the awards he and Barb received were very much appreciated.

“Hockey has been a big part of our lives and we love it,” Ryan said.

“It’s good to know that people do appreciate the effort you put in and your dedication over a long period of time.

“It’s wonderful to be recognised.

“We have so many great memories but probably our biggest highlight is the achievement of Mark, who went to four Olympics and captained Australia.

“After that you can list so many things.

“We’ve both coached teams and to see some of the kids we coached as juniors with our own kids still playing is pretty special.”