Bailey Phillips is no stranger to major competition.
The 16-year-old Truganina resident has competed in seven national and three international hockey tournaments since the age of eight, most recently taking out a bronze medal at the in-line hockey junior Olympics in Hawaii for his age group.
“I was nervous going into the first game, because we’d only had one training session as a team when we got up there,” he said.
“As we progressed, we got better and better. It’s kind of hard, but we know the way each of us plays because we’ve competed against each other at nationals.”
Bailey, who plays both in-line and ice hockey, has added another string to his bow after winning Wyndham council’s mayoral youth award for his sporting prowess.
The year 10 Tarneit Senior College student received a $500 grant as part of the award and says he’ll use it to buy more hockey gear.
“I was stoked, it will help me a lot,” he said.
Bailey played hockey while growing up in Tasmania and quickly found an affinity with, and talent for, the sport.
He moved to Victoria three years ago to broaden his hockey opportunities and is a member of the Bayswater Scorpions pro-league men’s team.
He trains up to six times a week and will head to Moe at the end of this month to compete in the national championships.
