Golden touch in front of goal

The 17-year-old won gold over Canada in the Youth Olympics Hockey 5s, scoring three goals in the final.

Alec said it was an amazing feeling to win gold for Australia, adding he would never forget the atmosphere of the final.

‘Scoring three goals for my country in an Olympic gold medal match is something I will never forget,’ Alec said. ‘Those were the moments where I let the roar of the crowd in, the atmosphere was electrifying and I can’t thank all the Australians who came to support us enough.’

The Year 12 student said he found dealing with the pressure of the Youth Olympics difficult at first but was able to reassure himself.

‘I just focused purely on my game and what I needed to do to help the team, blocking out the distractions of the crowd and opposition,’ he said.

Prior to Nanjing, Alec went to Sydney for a training camp in preparation for the Youth Olympics.

Alec said he became interested in hockey through watching both parents and siblings play the sport.

‘I got into hockey through my family; both my parents played hockey as well as my brother and two sisters,’ he said. ‘My brother Brad was my idol growing up as he played high level hockey and taught me a lot of what I know today.’

Alec was last week named on Hockey Australia’s National Futures Program.