Mathew Higgins inducted into Greater Shepparton Hall of Fame
July 7, 2021
Congratulations to Mathew Higgins who is being inducted into the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame!
Higgo (as he is known by all at Altona) played 332 games for Altona between 1997 and 2015, and made 108 appearances for Victoria between 1999 and 2008.
A legend of the AHC, Hockey Victoria, and GV Hockey, it is another fantastic recognition for the career of one of the hardest working players and nicest people in Australian hockey.
The article is filled with some great quotes and stories through Higgo’s career.
On joining Altona:
Trialing for the Victorian under-21 side in Melbourne, Higgins had made it to the last round before being outed — but all was not lost.
“I was walking out of the hockey centre with my tail between my legs and the Altona coach Gerry Anastasio yelled out from the grandstand, ‘Matthew Higgins, wait there’,” Higgins said.
“He was a big bustling bloke, so I thought, ‘shit, what is going on?’
“Gerry came down and introduced himself and said ‘you’re doing pre-season with us, I’ll see you at the club in a week’ — he didn’t give me an option.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
“The training, expectations, how you went about playing — everything was 100 per cent commitment.
“It was the same as how I was raised at SYC; once the game is over we’re all mates, and Altona Hockey Club was fantastic like that.”
___________
On joining Victoria:
He was making a name for himself at Altona, enough so that Australian representative Darren Duff tapped on the shoulder of Colin Batch, asking the then Victorian coach to have a look at a tenacious young man by the name of Higgins.
Batch obliged — and when he called, the answer was always yes.
“He invited me down for a few training sessions and I loved every second of them, but at the same time it was just a new level,”
“It was 100 per cent and nothing but 100 per cent every time you turn up.” Higgins said.
___________
You can read the full article at the Shep News: https://www.sheppnews.com.au/…/hall-of-fame-matt-higgins
Read the latest Altona Hockey Club news:
2022 Senior Presentation Night
Thank you to everyone who helped us to celebrate the 2022 season in style at the Altona Sports Club.
Molly Klix selected in Australian Country U21 Squad
Molly Klix selected in Australian Country U21 Squad 28th of September, 2022Congratulations to Molly Klix, Altona's Women's Premier League Goalkeeper, who has been selected for the Australian U21 Country team and will compete in Indonesia in January. She was selected...
MailPlus Altona partners with the AHC as a Silver Sponsor
MailPlus Altona supports businesses in Melbourne’s western suburbs by delivering the Post Office to you. We’ll clear your PO Box and lodge all outgoing Australia Post mail and parcels, same day guaranteed.
Pride for all on show at hockey event
Pride for all on show at hockey event 5th of August, 2022 Thank you to everyone who came out on the weekend for the Altona Hockey Club Pride Cup! It was a great event, with junior inclusion workshops during the week, all of our junior teams wearing the rainbow...
AHC Strategic Project – Seeking Volunteers
We are seeking volunteers wanting to learn, build, or offer their professional skills to join our new member pathways project. This is an exciting part of our club strategy to encourage and better support our members to participate in all aspects of our sport.
Celebrating 90 Years of the Altona Hockey Club
Founded in 1932, the Altona Hockey Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2022.
100 Goal Milestone for Andrew Scanlon
This past weekend in the Ric Purser Cup against Doncaster, Andrew Scanlon, known affectionately as Goldy, became the 4th player in our history to reach the milestone of 100 Premier League goals behind Darren Duff, Daniel Dawson and Stephanie Young.
Matt Barnett selected for Canada Men’s National Team
Congratulations to Matt Barnett who has been selected for his the Men’s Canadian International team!
Connar Otterbach and Cooper Burns Selected for the Burras U21 Australian Squad
A huge congratulations to Connar Otterbach and Cooper Burns who have both been selected in the Burras – Australia U21 Men’s – squad for 2022.
2021/22 Social Summer Hockey
We have summer hockey back at the AHC from Wednesday December 8th! Mixed senior social hockey with all welcome including older junior players.
2021 Senior Presentation Night
Despite the 2021 season being cancelled, we decided to go ahead with counting the votes and awarding all 2021 awards based on the partially completed season, watch our Live Streamed Presentation Night.
AHC New Strategic Plan from 2021 – 24
In 2021, the Altona Hockey Club Board held multiple sessions through the year to outlay the 2021 – 2024 Strategy. See the outline of the the strategic priorities to take the club forward and grow.
Update to the Club Song to be more inclusive
The club is excited to announce that our club song has had a refresh.
HC Melbourne Selection for Otterbach and Burns
Congratulations Cooper Burns & Connar Otterbach on their selection in the HC Melbourne Squad and Nye Roberts in his selection in the Development Squad.
AHC Live Stream vs TEM HC – Round 7 2021
In the middle of COVID Restrictions this was our first ever Premier League home game with no crowd, check out all of the highlights from two cracking Premier League games against TEM HC.