Promising midfielder Kate Kernaghan is very much at the beginning of her journey. The confident 18-year-old turned out for the New Zealand Under-16 team and is a player with a bright future. It is just that future appears to be elsewhere.
The St Hilda's pupil is planning on applying for a sporting scholarship at the University of Waikato. She would be happy to continue playing her hockey in the province if similar opportunities to those in Hamilton were on offer in Dunedin, she said.
"Otago University doesn't offer any sporting scholarships, so it is quite hard to stay in Dunedin when you want to further your career."
Kernaghan will not be the first to move in search of greener pastures. The Southern Men lost three of their most promising players last year when Hugo Inglis, Nick Ross and Blair Tarrant all left the region to play for other associations.
Inglis and Tarrant have since been selected for the Black Sticks and Ross is part of the national development squad.
It is a talent drain which needs plugging if the southern sides are going to be more competitive in the National Hockey League.
This year's league gets under way at the weekend, with the Southern Storm opening its campaign against defending champion Central in Palmerston North on Saturday and Capital on Sunday.
It is Kernaghan's second season with the Storm and there is more optimism in the camp this time around, she said.
"I think it will be much better than last year because there won't be any Black Sticks at this tournament. So that gives us a more of a chance and makes it a bit more even.
"It will be interesting."
Experienced Australian coach Mark Stafford has taken over the reins from Mark Smithells this season and is well aware of the size of the task ahead.
The Storm has not won an NHL match since it beat Auckland 2-1 to avoid the wooden spoon in 2007.
The Dunedin-based team snaffled a draw against Northland last year, but in the playoff for seventh and eighth it crashed to a 6-0 defeat to the same opponent.
"We are not looking any further ahead than playing well and seeing where we can go," Stafford said.
Stafford, who has coached New South Wales in the national women's league, is based in Australia but spends six months of the year in Invercargill leading the high-performance programme.
While his coaching credentials are impressive, he says he does not know much about the strength of the league in New Zealand.
However, he has been impressed with the progress his team has made. He is used to a more professional set-up in Australia and was initially surprised how low-key the approach was this side of the Tasman.
Having students come and go was frustrating and was a huge hurdle for the side to overcome, he said. But the Storm had gradually lifted its intensity and had been training well.
It played a pre-season game against Canterbury and was "drilled" 8-0. But the Storm was missing its Australian imports Kellie White and Tamsin Lee.
Lee has played for Australia Under-21 and will lead the defence, while White is expected to add some strike power up front. She will join the likes of Junior Black Sticks striker Samara Dalziel and Kiriana Brown. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Gifford is another player to expected to shine.
National Hockey League
SOUTHERN STORM
• 2009 placing: Last.
• Key players: Australia Under-21 players Tamsin Lee and Kellie White.
• Squad: Michelle Borren (captain), Kiriana Brown, Kirsty Cole, Samara Dalziel, Elizabeth Gifford, Jordan Grant, Charlotte Henley, Katie Jones, Kate Kernaghan, Tamsin Lee, Kerryn McKeown, Elle Pullar, Nikki Reed, Courtney Ross, Melanie Sinclair, Phillipa Symes, Kellie White.
• Coach: Mark Stafford.
DRAW
• September 11: v Central,
• Palmerston North; September 12: v Capital,
• Palmerston North; September 18: v Canterbury,
• North Harbour; September 19: v Midlands,
• North Harbour; September 20: v North Harbour,
• North Harbour; September 22: v Northland,
• North Harbour; September 23: v Auckland,
• North Harbour; September 25-26: Playoffs.
