Fantastic Forbes: Kirk's hockey star continues to rise

By Alex Gretgrix

Forbes Kirk. NCN PHOTO

HOCKEY is a lifestyle for the Kirk family.

So it only natural that eldest son Forbes would be a natural at it.

Ever since he was old enough, he’s had a stick in his hand.

“I started off playin minkey for St Arnaud, but probably played since I was four,” he said.

“I always remember mum playing, so that’s what I wanted to do.”

As his skills started to develop, mum Nicola said it was important for the family to encourage his growth.

“I never wanted Forbes to grow up wondering how he could have been if he had been supported to keep persuing his sport,” she said.

“Both my kids have played, I’ve played my whole life, I wanted to encourage them to chase that dream if they wanted to.”

Forbes’ moved up a level by playing hockey in Bendigo the year after the COVID-19 pandemic and it all went up from there.

“That’s when I first started goal keeping,” he said.

A few months after finding his position, someone suggested the youngster try out for the Camp Draught in Melbourne.

“It’s like a trial for the high performance academy, which is a high-performance pathway for Hockey Victoria towards State selection,” Nicola said.

“We didn’t really know what it was at the time, but thought it was worth giving a try.”

And worth it, it was. Forbes took his first ever trial by the hornes and was selected into the academy.

This would take him on 10 weeks of training before trials began for the Victorian side, of which he was selected as an emergency goal keeper.

And while that didn’t necessarily secure him a plane ticket, it did put him in front of another state’s eyes

“The Northern Territory side were looking for a goal keeper, so once I had permission, I was able to do that,” Forbes said.

After that challenging and rewarding experience, another year of hockey followed before he was able to try again for the Under 13s Victoria side.

A few years of disappointment followed when he struggled to be selected for top age Under 14s and bottom age Under 16s.

But it didn’t last long, with his stint in the indoor hockey scene in Melbourne and successful Under 13s state campaign proving to be worth the work.

“I was asked to play for K-Box Hill, which is Metropolitan Shield Hockey, which is the highest level for that,” he said.

“I go down every week and play there, amongst all the other tournaments and stuff.

“I made my first state indoor team end of last year, where we played and won a bronze medal.”

He has hardly slept since, being chosen and training for the last 10 weeks for the Victorian development team too.

Most recently, Forbes travelled to Tasmania to represent Victoria in the Hockey Australia Under 16’s Championships.

But for Forbes, it’s about thriving under pressure.

“Eight second shoot outs are my specialty,” he said.

“I haven’t lost one yet, I just love the pressure.”

Forbes’s next venture will be to represent North Central at the Junior State Championships in mid-May.