Coaches

Premier Men's Coach

Amish Fermah

I have been playing hockey on and off for around 20 years. I have been coaching for the last

eight of those years. For me coaching is more rewarding than playing, so that has been my focus.

Hockey History

Bay of Plenty Men’s NHC Assistant Coach 2023
Whakatane Intercity women 2018-2022 – Won competition in 2022
Whakatane High School Boys First XI 2017-2022 – Top 3 finishes in BOP intercity consistently
Varsity Reserve Women 2023 – Won competition
Whakatane u13 Boys 2022 – Undefeated tournament

Q & A

I’ve only been part of the club for one season but have found the club culture is very inviting and offers something for all players.

Being able to work with players as individuals and as a collective. To set goals (individual and team) then work towards achieving them. It’s almost like living vicariously through the players.

Not necessarily a winning result. If the players / team can feel like they’ve worked well together and played good hockey, then that would be a great game.

I remember Ricky Carmichael decimating the motocross scene when I was younger, his performances were always something that I got up early on Sunday to watch.

Not much of a cinephile, but I enjoy watching crime / mystery movies and shows. Something that requires a little thinking. Musically I like listening to artists from the soul genre. Barry White, Luther Vandross, Gladys Knight etc.

Premier Women's Coach

Ethan Hohneck

Ethan joined Suburbs in 2019 after having 5 years away from Hockey.  He runs is own IT Company and administers our website.

Ethan is on our SPHC Committee, the Waikato Hockey Association Board, NZ Maori Hockey Kaunihera, and recently the NZ Heritage Hockey Committee.

I am a keen musician and father of two amazing young girls.

Hockey History

My introduction to hockey was when I was 15 at school.  I was a keen soccer player however had a series of injuries so decided to swap to Hockey.  Ironically I have had way worse injuries playing hockey since that transition.

Rotorua Boys High School First XI 1990 – 1993
Bay of Plenty U18 & U21 1992 – 1993
Waikato University Hockey Club Reserve 1 1995-1996
Te Awamutu Hockey Club Reserve 1 1997 – 1998
Waikato-Maniapoto Mens Team 1998 – Present (NZ Maori Hockey Champions 1st Equal 2012)
Fraser Tech Hockey Club Premier Mens 1999
NZ Maori Mens 1999 – 2001 (Defeated Singapore 3 – 0 series 2000)
Roskill Eden Hockey Club Premier Mens 2000 – 2004 (Auckland Champions 2004)
Auckland Mens Hockey 2004
University of Western Australia Premier Dev 2006-2008 (WA Champions 2008)
Roskill Eden Hockey Club Reserve 1 2010 – 2012
Suburbs Hockey Club Pastits 2019 – Present
Waikato Masters 35s, 40s, 45s 2019 – Present

Q & A

I have jumped around the Waikato Hockey Clubs over 20 years on and off.  I have fond memories of past clubs but am loving the atmosphere at Suburbs.  This could be my last hockey club ever.

From many years of hockey playing over my life I have always enjoyed passing on what I have learned.  Seeing people reach their potential and seeing the outcome makes me happy.

A great game to me is where an underdog, who is written off before the game even starts, overcomes the “Better Team” and walks away the victor.

Tiger Woods, when I was younger I wanted to be as good as Tiger Woods at golf.  I didn’t quite get there, but still enjoy golf and watching Tiger play.

Michael Jordan, simply the greatest athlete and Bball player.  G.O.A.T.

KFC

Dixie Chicken from Lone Star

Pork Roast with apple sauce (home made of course)

Megan’s American Hot Dogs

 

I like a large range of music from Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Crowded House, Elvis, Six60, Maroon 5, Eminem, Dire Straits, Daft Punk, KOL, Avicii, Coldplay, Queen, Ed Sheeran, Audioslave, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, Foo Fighters, to GNR.

Greatest movies for me are Ace Ventura, Love Actually, Austin Powers, James Bond, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Pulp Fiction, Forest Gump, and finally Shawshank Redemption.

TV Series would be The Punisher, Sons of Anarchy, The Mayans, El Chapo, Narcos, Ozark, Altered Carbon, Cobra Kai

Premier Development Women's Co-Coach

Ethan Hohneck

Ethan joined Suburbs in 2019 after having 5 years away from Hockey.  He runs is own IT Company and administers our website.

Ethan is on our SPHC Committee, the Waikato Hockey Association Board, NZ Maori Hockey Kaunihera, and recently the NZ Heritage Hockey Committee.

I am a keen musician and father of two amazing young girls.

Hockey History

My introduction to hockey was when I was 15 at school.  I was a keen soccer player however had a series of injuries so decided to swap to Hockey.  Ironically I have had way worse injuries playing hockey since that transition.

Rotorua Boys High School First XI 1990 – 1993
Bay of Plenty U18 & U21 1992 – 1993
Waikato University Hockey Club Reserve 1 1995-1996
Te Awamutu Hockey Club Reserve 1 1997 – 1998
Waikato-Maniapoto Mens Team 1998 – Present (NZ Maori Hockey Champions 1st Equal 2012)
Fraser Tech Hockey Club Premier Mens 1999
NZ Maori Mens 1999 – 2001 (Defeated Singapore 3 – 0 series 2000)
Roskill Eden Hockey Club Premier Mens 2000 – 2004 (Auckland Champions 2004)
Auckland Mens Hockey 2004
University of Western Australia Premier Dev 2006-2008 (WA Champions 2008)
Roskill Eden Hockey Club Reserve 1 2010 – 2012
Suburbs Hockey Club Pastits 2019 – Present
Waikato Masters 35s, 40s, 45s 2019 – Present

Q & A

I have jumped around the Waikato Hockey Clubs over 20 years on and off.  I have fond memories of past clubs but am loving the atmosphere at Suburbs.  This could be my last hockey club ever.

From many years of hockey playing over my life I have always enjoyed passing on what I have learned.  Seeing people reach their potential and seeing the outcome makes me happy.

A great game to me is where an underdog, who is written off before the game even starts, overcomes the “Better Team” and walks away the victor.

Tiger Woods, when I was younger I wanted to be as good as Tiger Woods at golf.  I didn’t quite get there, but still enjoy golf and watching Tiger play.

Michael Jordan, simply the greatest athlete and Bball player.  G.O.A.T.

KFC

Dixie Chicken from Lone Star

Pork Roast with apple sauce (home made of course)

Megan’s American Hot Dogs

 

I like a large range of music from Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Crowded House, Elvis, Six60, Maroon 5, Eminem, Dire Straits, Daft Punk, KOL, Avicii, Coldplay, Queen, Ed Sheeran, Audioslave, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, Foo Fighters, to GNR.

Greatest movies for me are Ace Ventura, Love Actually, Austin Powers, James Bond, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Pulp Fiction, Forest Gump, and finally Shawshank Redemption.

TV Series would be The Punisher, Sons of Anarchy, The Mayans, El Chapo, Narcos, Ozark, Altered Carbon, Cobra Kai

Premier Development Women's Co-Coach

Jimmy Phillips

Hockey History

I’ve been playing since I can remember.

Q & A

Premier Development Men's Co-Coach

Rob Martin-Cramp

Hockey History

Q & A

Premier Development Men's Co-Coach

Owen Pratt

Owen loves to encourage the younger generation into playing a sport that he has loved for years.

Hockey History

Owen started playing hockey at intermediate school and continued through to Te Awamutu High school in the U15 teams and then Fraser High school playing in the 1st XI.

Owen then had a break from hockey after school and came back to play for Suburbs in 2009. He has been with the club ever since.  Owen has chaired the Suburbs Committee and coached and managed number of teams at Suburbs. 

Q & A

Such an inclusive club where anyone can come along and play.

Watching the players come through and seeing their skills develop throughout the season.

Getting the enjoyment from the game no matter who wins or loses.

Kevin Mealamu because when I worked in Palmers Garden Centre Mangere Kevin was one of my staff members. It was great to see where his origins were and where he ended up being a great All Black.

Venison Steak that I caught from deep in the bush

Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall

Reserve 2 Saint's Men's Co-Coach

Alan Prestage

Alan’s love of hockey has survived 45 plus years and his skills and passion are much wanted by the mighty Saint’s men’s team.

I’m Alan and I’m often called L&P…because… I like to let people think about it (Al-an P).

Hockey History

Started playing hockey 45 years ago. Played in South Africa, retired at 30. Started again 10 years later in Tauranga playing Masters. Then I came over to Waikato and joined SPHC where I have been now for 2 years.

Q & A

The people at Suburbs want to enjoy their hockey; we have fun.

I’m a ‘tinsy’ bit selfish as I only coach teams I’m involved in, so I always get selected.

Big flowing movements, using the full pitch – and watching people with amazing skills.

Nigel Owens. He has a great ability to let a game become a spectacle.

Truman’s (Ping’s actually) muesli bars.

The Grateful Dead – I used their legendary concerts and fans as a metaphor for a tournament motivation speech. Oh, and their music is good too.

Reserve 2 Saint's Men's Co-Coach

Truman Wee

In his time at Suburbs Piako Truman has been a player, coach of the men’s prem team, committee member and Club President. He’s now the Chairman of the WHA Board so there’s not much Truman does not know about hockey in Waikato. (His wife Ping, makes the best ever muesli bars)

Hi I’m Truman and most often I’m called ‘Tru’ – probably because it’ one syllable.

Hockey History

I started playing at the age of 6 in Malaysia, playing at primary and secondary schools. I also represented my university when I studied in Singapore before leaving for NZ.

I was one of the founding members of the Pastits team when it was formed in 1994. I have represented the Waikato Masters team since 2003 and more recently I appeared as a guest player for the Tauranga Over 55s Masters team. We won the national title in 2020.

Internationally, I represented NZ at the Masters World Cup at Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2014. In 2019, I played in the Trans-Tasman Challenge Series against Australia at Commonwealth Games venue at the Gold Coast.

Q & A

I “joined” SPHC by default when the Pastits team, which was previously a stand-alone and independent team, became a team within the SPHC. I have stayed on with SPHC because of my friends, their family members, its culture, and underdog label.

I have previously coached the SPHC’s Premier Men’s Team from 2009 to 2011. I was also the coach mentor for many years. In 2021, together with Alan Prestage, I became coach and manager of the Saints team.

I love sports and I’ve had many sporting heroes over the years. I admire the likes of Pele, Ric Charlesworth, Roger Federer, and Jamie Dwyer, for their legacy to their respective sports and their ability to perform consistently at the top level during their careers.
Closer to home, my sporting hero is our own Alan Isaac ( Suburbs Piako’s oldest player- in his 70s). I want to continue to play hockey at his age.

My favourite meal is a famous Malaysian/Singaporean meal known as “Hainanese Chicken Rice”. It is essentially rice cooked with chicken stock, with poached chicken meat dipped with garlic chilli sauce, ginger sauce, and sweet soy sauce, served with sliced cucumber.

My all-time favourite movie has got to be “Shawshank Redemption”. This movie resonates with me because it highlights the enduring determination of a human being, the importance of hope and the wonderful bond between good friends.

Reserve 2 Flames Women's Coach

Jarrod Thorne

Jarrod is reasonably new to the Suburbs crew and has become and enthusiastic member of the SPHC managing team picking up the role of the Club’s men’s captain, committee member, player and coach.

Hi I’m Jarrod and I don’t have a nick-name, but always open to one.

Hockey History

Started playing hockey as a school kid in Auckland at Green Meadows Intermediate school and then then Manurewa High School.

Q & A

The fantastic group of people that create the core of the club, the support while playing and coaching of myself and my family.

Watching players develop and grow into the sport. In particular I like it when really green players who maybe picking up a stick for the first time, or after playing 6-a-side, join the side and learn new skills, make new friends, gain from the experience of our older players and become part of a well-oiled and well-bonded team.

Close, evenly-matched play that’s free running and results in a flowing game.

I have a few as I am passionate about a few different sports, but watching what the women’s black sticks accomplished at the Olympics was fantastic.

Venison (fresh from the bush), Scallops I have dived for myself, or a good pasta.

Top Gun, Die Hard (best Christmas movie of all time)

My favourite band of 2021 is Highly Suspect.

Reserve 2 Strikers Women's Co-Coach

Cameron Stevenson

Hockey History

None

Q & A

Junior Development Women's Coach

Lyndon Cooper

Lyndon has been playing for Suburbs for years and now his kids are following in his footsteps.

Hockey History

I’ve been playing since I can remember.

Q & A

The people, the players, the good times.

Being able to pass on my hockey knowledge and experience to willing young players.

Ivan Mauger Speedway Racer and inductee of the NZ Speedway Hall of Fame.

Fresh snapper straight out of the ocean and caught on the end of my rod n reel.