Hockey WA and Managed IT are thrilled to continue fostering a strong working relationship through a new partnership that supports Hockey WA’s Emerging Perth Thundersticks Program.
Building upon a successful 20-year relationship, Managed IT continues its commitment to Hockey WA through this significant investment supporting an impactful program that aims to nurture Western Australia’s next generation of hockey stars.
Managed IT go above and beyond to craft the best solutions to suit individual business needs, with authentic, best-practice recommendations designed to align with growth strategies.
Two of WA’s emerging hockey stars recently visited the Managed IT headquarters to talk about the Emerging Perth Thundersticks program and its importance for developing their burgeoning hockey careers.
Emerging Perth Thundersticks program participant Ian Grobbelaar said visiting the Managed IT office felt very similar to the team environment that encompasses the Emerging Perth Thundersticks Program.
“Everyone is always helping each other out and picking up where others have left off so it’s like a big family,” he said.
“It was awesome hearing about it.”
For participating athletes like Grobblelaar and Jaeda Ritchie, the Emerging Perth Thundersticks Program provides enhanced training to emerging talents to take their game to the next level.
The program, which was established in September last year, also helped provide athletes opportunities to participating in high-level competitions.
“I made the 2023 Men’s State team that participated in Tasmania and then from there I was selected for the Futures squad,” Ian said.
“Hopefully that would lead to the Junior World Cup."
“It’s an amazing program and it opens a lot of doors for a lot of different opportunities in the future.”
For Jaeda, she has enjoyed the experience of training alongside other strong athletes and working with elite coaches to boost her confidence.
“This program helped me make the 21s team this year because last year I didn’t trial for it because I was not confident,” she said.
“Now being exposed to some of the coaches that are involved made me feel like I could."
“What you put in is what you get out, so you always want to give your best effort at the training and gym sessions and ask the coaches lots of questions.”
Managed IT accounts manager Anthony Roberts said it was fascinating to learn more about the Emerging Perth Thundersticks program and the parallels between what the athletes do and what Managed IT provides to their clients.
“The focus on the clients of our clients is a really important factor into the way that we do our business so it’s all about understanding what drives our customers,” he said.
“In Hockey WA’s case it’s all about the players of clubs and professional teams and the supporters of those players and teams."
“Learning about some of the athletes and the different commitments they managed helps us understand the time pressures that they’re under when we are doing tasks to help them from an IT point of view."
“I guess we see ourselves as a support behind the scenes so we’re the guys who are behind the players of hockey in WA.”
Mr Roberts said providing support to Hockey WA and other organisations is “vital to who we are and what we do”.
“We’re not the biggest IT player in WA but something that’s always been critical to us is supporting organisations that we believe in, where we can be a real partner in the business,” he said.
“We’re not just IT or looking to make a sale, we always focus on organisations that are supporting the community."
“It’s just vital to who we are, and it always has been.”
Visit the Hockey WA website to learn more about their Thundersticks program.
