Kids were smiling ear to ear after a legendary surprise guest made an appearance during the week

Kids were smiling ear to ear after a legendary surprise guest made an appearance during the week

Grafton hockey legend Brent Livermore joined juniors during a school holiday hockey clinic at the Grafton fields on Thursday. Photo: Suellen Jenkins

GRAFTON Hockey Association’s school holiday clinic had a surprise visitor this week when former Australian Kookaburra Brent Livermore joined in.

Preparing to take charge of the under-6 to under-11s sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, GHA coach Rick Sampson got an unexpected call from Livermore earlier in the week.

“I had no idea,” Sampson said.

“Brent contacted me on Tuesday and said he was on a holiday at Woolgoolga and he wanted to bring his daughter Keira along with him to the clinics.”

Grafton hockey legend Brent Livermore joined juniors during a school holiday hockey clinic at the Grafton fields on Thursday. Photo: Suellen Jenkins

Sampson said the kids were excited to have Livermore in attendance but the parents were a little more taken aback.

“Brent helped with some coaching before going up to play on the Gold Coast this weekend,” he said.

“It was excellent. The kids loved it. The parents too, maybe more so than the kids.”

While senior numbers are down this season, Sampson said he was keen to see the juniors back out on the turf ahead of their restart in the coming weeks.

“It’s great to get them out there doing some core skills. They’re really looking forward to being able to play again,” he said.

“It’s a shame about the men’s competition only having C grade this year but it’s important we get the kids playing again. They’re the future of the game.”

Rick Sampson leads the group during a school holiday hockey clinic at the Grafton fields on Thursday. Photo: Suellen Jenkins

Sampson will be running another clinic for the under-13s and under-15s on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Registrations are open until Monday with participation across both days to cost $5 a head.

Originally published as Kids were smiling ear to ear after a legendary surprise guest made an appearance during the week