This article, written by Andrew Macdougall, was originally published via On the Fly Hockey on July 4, 2014.
Getting to the top of the tree in a sporting code can often take an unusual path, dedication and hard work the contributing factors, a bit of luck and the whim of a mother can also play a major role.
This was the case for current Sydney Bears defender Steven Adams, who, by the request of Judith Adams took up inline hockey 1991.
It was an unlikely path 23 years ago, hockey when compared to today’s game, wasn’t a consideration for many young Australians looking to take up a sporting hobby.
For Steven Adams he found an automatic love and connection to inline hockey.
“Even ending up in hockey was unlikely, back in 1991 Mum saw an ad for inline hockey at the rink I skated at,” said Adams.
“I really didn’t want to go, but my parents dragged me out there. Once I got out there I loved it. That was the first season of inline hockey in NSW with 45 guys playing – after that numbers went through the roof, within few years it was double the numbers of ice – till rinks vanished and numbers crashed in Sydney.”
The 1990s would see a surge in roller blading across Australia, many people young and old would strap on the skates for exercise and social fun, while others would see it as a chosen sports career.
Steven Adams would find this in the modest sport of inline hockey, this would see him become part of state representative and Australian national teams in what has been the highlight of his sports career.
“Definitely, going away with the national team is always special – you’re on an extended trip with a great bunch of guys and you’re all playing insanely competitive hockey,” continued Adams.
“Especially for Australia at inline, unlike ice where the stars are divisions away, it is all one tournament so you’re around all these top division countries and players from NHL all the way down. My personal highlight was 2012 in Colombia, our pool was Czech, France, Canada – playing guys of that caliber is a really good test. I played against Ice Dogs import John Clewlow there, so it was cool when the Dogs announced he was coming to play AIHL.”
With a mothers push in 1991 the road for Steven Adams would see him make a late shift into the world of ice hockey, only using the ice as a form of training, Adams would eventually debut in the Australian Ice Hockey League for the Central Coast Rhinos in 2006.
Adams has grown a love for the sport, now becoming a stalwart for the Sydney Bears since 2008, he has seen the changes that have taken shape within the AIHL.
“The change in the AIHL the last couple of years has felt huge in terms of the professionalism surrounding the league,” added Adams.
“The media exposure, the game day organisation by the teams – suddenly it seems every game has a mascot running around in the stands and you can watch AIHL on Air Canada flights! The uptake of live streaming has been amazing – I remember one week there was AIHL on TV, and 3 games streamed live on the weekend, who thought you’d ever have to choose to watch one game over another.
“Just look at the number of writers, photographers, and blogs that are dedicating serious amounts of time to the AIHL in the past season or two. It has been like a great big feedback loop pumping the league to another level.”
Now 35, Steven Adams is heading into what many believe to be the age that sports stars start to hit the downward spiral. An older body, longer recoveries, injuries start to occur that were not the case previously. It’s where players begin to bid farewell to the sport they have grown to love, for Adams retirement isn’t in the forefront of his mind.
Looking to play for as long as possible, Adams is also giving back to the hockey community helping the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League grow as a sporting body in Australia for junior players.
“It isn’t something that I really think about. Minus the current injury, I’m probably fitter/stronger than I was before – so as many seasons as possible,” continued Adams.
“I think last season was one of the busiest I’ve ever had – playing AIHL and inline here, and jumping across to New Zealand to play with my inline team from Auckland whenever there was a gap in the schedule.
“I know when I was younger, you’d think “oh you couldn’t keep playing beyond age X”, but you see more and more players just keeping on going. I think up to a point its going to be determined more by just how much work you can put in to your strength and conditioning.
“I’ve enjoyed the last couple of seasons with the AJIHL it has been great to see the players and league develop – there was a lot of added depth in the 2013-14 season . So, once I’m done I guess I’ll coach more… but not yet.”
Looking at a career best season since 2011, there is no reason for Adams to look at retirement any time soon. Five points across the first 13 Sydney Bears games and four from his past five starts has the defender heading into an AIHL best season.
Playing with a fractured finger Adams has seen a recent revival of the Sydney Bears season, following a hot start the Bears would lose nine in a row, a current three game win streak has given hope to a late finals push.
“I’ve been playing with a broken finger the last few weeks – I fractured it in our last home game against Mustangs… if only I’d done it sooner, maybe I’d have more?
“We’ve tweaked our lineups up a bit in the last few games and I think it’s worked really well for us. It feels like, as a team, we’ve recaptured the buzz we had at the start of the season – so hopefully we can keep it going.
“It’s a little bittersweet to be going away for inline worlds at the moment, obviously there is no place I’d rather be than at the tournament – but I’m going to really miss not being there for our away game against Ice Dogs, and the second Melbourne road trip.”
Not a pinup boy for the Sydney Bears, not your flashing hockey player, Steven Adams has fulfilled a career that many dream of, traveling the globe representing his country at the highest level and becoming part of an emerging AIHL.
It’s a distinguished career that often holds no regrets, speaking to Adams only one stands out, “not starting ice [hockey] earlier.”
We might have seen a career fulfilled across two forms of hockey, inline and ice.
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