IT was almost 15 months ago to the day that Malcolm Beer awoke from anaesthesia in a pained state.
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The goalkeeper doubted he’d play for his country again after a shoulder reconstruction – the byproduct of injuries sustained in his time with the Australian under 21s outfit.
Now, the better part of 450 days on, Beer’s poised for a return to the Australian Hockey League and at year’s end jets to Europe for international indoor championships.
The 23-year-old’s recovery has surprised many, not least himself.
“I think I’ve got back to where I was, maybe a bit better,” the former Goulburn High School student explained.
“I realise I’ve been given a second chance. That’s made me work much harder.”
Work ethic is a must for aspiring hockey players. Government funding and sponsorship dollars are low in comparison to rival Australian sports.
This month’s Australian Hockey League leg in Melbourne, where Beer is set to don the Canberra Lakers strip, will likely put the goalkeeper back a few thousand dollars.
Australia’s escapade overseas for the World Indoor Championships in January will hit the hip pocket even harder.
Beer juggles hockey training three nights a week with injury management and full-time carpentry work at Master Builders in Canberra.
“I’m not on the tools as much as I was,” he said.
“I’ve had to ease back into it, mainly because of the sport. I’m lucky that work’s supportive.”
Beer hopes a strong showing in the AHL, backed up with impressive performances abroad, will resurrect hopes of a Kookaburras call-up.
He won selection in the Australian indoor team after a stoic effort in an ACT campaign that finished in grand final defeat to big brother rival, New South Wales.
“That [injury] put me out of the spotlight for a while,” he said.
“Initially, the injury was with the Australian under 21s and gradually it got worse and worse. Since I’ve come back, I’ve had to ease back into hockey.”
While less glamorous than its free-running alternatives, the goalkeeping position lends itself to gritty customers like Beer.
He stumbled on the position more by mistake than desire.
“It’s not something I really chose, I was thrown into it,” Beer said.
“I took shining to it straight away and I enjoy it. At training and club level I play around the field more, but I wouldn’t class myself as a general field player, that’s for sure.”
Beer and his Lakers teammates hit-off their AHL campaign at the Victorian Hockey and Netball Centre on September 27. They face eight time winner Western Australia first-up.
