Eddie Ockenden

Edward "Eddie" Clyve Ockenden (born 3 April 1987) is an Australian field hockey player. He plays in the midfielder and striker positions. He turned professional in 2008 and has played for teams in the Netherlands. He plays club hockey, having competed for a New Zealand team and Hobart, Tasmania side, North West Hobart Graduates (NWG). He also plays for the Tassie Tigers in the Australian Hockey League. He has represented Australia on the junior, intermediate, and senior level, earning a silver medal with the 2005 U21 team at the Junior World Cup.

As a member of the senior men's team, he represented Australia at the 2008 Games where he earned a bronze medal. He won a gold medal at the 2009 and 2011 Champions Trophy competitions. He won another gold medal with Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At the 2010 World Cup, he won a gold medal. He represents the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was again part of an Australian team that won the bronze medal.

Personal life Ockenden is from Moonah, Tasmania. He had completed one year of higher education by 2008, finishing a year of working towards a degree in commerce.

Field hockey Ockenden is a midfielder and striker. In 2006, he had a field hockey scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport.

Professional hockey Ockenden turned professional in 2008, when he signed a deal and played for Laren, a Dutch team. His salary was not near the top of the league, where the best players earn in the six figures.

State team Ockenden plays for the Tassie Tigers in the Australian Hockey League. He was with the team in 2006 when he was a teenager. He was a member of the Tassie Tigers in 2010. He played in a June 2010 game for the Tassie Tigers against New South Wales that New South Wales won 6–3. He scored a goal in the game. In 2010, after the league finals, he earned the AHL Player of the Tournament award.

Junior national team Ockenden has represented Australia on the junior national level. In 2005, as a member of the U21 national team, he earned a silver medal at the Junior World Cup. In December 2007, he was a member of the Kookaburras squad that competed in the Dutch Series in Canberra. In January 2008, he was a member of the senior national team that competed at the Five Nations men's hockey tournament in South Africa.

He represented Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics, These were his first Olympics and he was the youngest player on the Australian field hockey team. He was one of fourteen Tasmanians to represent Australia at the Games. In 2009, he participated in two test matched against Spain in Perth in the lead up to the Champions Trophy. In 2010, he represented Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, His coach Ric Charlesworth described his performance at the Games as "exceptional."

While at the World Cup, the Indian hosts provided extensive security for him and other hockey competitors. Jamie Dwyer said "it was the tightest security he had ever seen as a competitor in an international competition". Competing at the 2010 World Cup in India was the first time he had visited India. In 2011, he won a gold medal in the Champions Trophy, scoring a goal in the gold medal match. He captained the Australian side in the competition. In February during the training camp, he played in a four nations test series with the teams being the Kookaburras, Australia A Squad, the Netherlands and Argentina.

Ockenden was selected in the Kookaburras Olympics squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The team reached the final for the first time since 2004. They lost to Belgium in a shootout.

Recognition In 2007 and 2008, he was named the best young player of the tournament at the Champions Trophy competition.

In 2010, he earned the Kookaburra's 2010 Player of the Year award, an award he shared with Simon Orchard.