West Rand hockey ace a ray of shining light to any aspiring hockey star

Fresh out of school with experience growing exponentially, Teshawn de la Rey twists opponents into knots.

Raised in Westbury, the 19-year-old stick wizard is a young role model for aspiring hockey girls. From Dowling Primary School to a brief stint at John Orr Technical High School, Teshawn completed matric at Helpmekaar Kollege, all the while climbing the ranks through the national age groups. Now a representative of the national team, she will be a regular at Hillfox Action Arena grooming young hockey talent.

Teshawn admits her first attraction was to soccer but once she discovered hockey there would be no looking back.

“My mother introduced me to hockey in early 2017, and I fell in love with it the moment I picked up that stick and started playing. I went for my first provincial trials at the end of the year in 2017 and made the U13 A and U14A provincial teams,” she said.

The instantaneous bonding between her, the stick and the ball had Teshawn seeing herself in green and gold from the outset.

“One might argue that it is too early to conclude only a few games, but I quickly became accustomed to the sport and loved every minute of it. I realised that I could incorporate my style of play with my speed and soccer movements,” she revealed, citing Marsha Cox as her inspiration both personally and stylistically.

Among the youngest to have represented her country, Teshawn is goal-orientated yet pragmatic, always firmly set on the end product.

“I believe that hard work, a positive attitude, determination, sacrifice, perseverance, and the satisfaction I get from representing my country in green and gold is what will always keep me going,” she stated.

A career highlight so far was her first international goal in her international fives debut at the Africa World Cup qualifiers in December 2022 where she would help her team qualify for the 2024 Fives Hockey World Cup. Going forward, she lists constant daily improvement, travelling to different countries to showcase her playing style, sharing her skills, and inspiring others to love the game as immediate ambitions.

Hockey is woefully under-supported in South Africa and while Teshawn hopes more financial backing will be given to players and the sport as a whole, she encourages aspiring players to keep dreaming big.

Signalling to all young girls, she said, “There will be no success without effort; you must put in the daily work. ‘Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard’. Work hard to improve the you of yesterday and challenge the you of tomorrow since there will always be someone with whom you will compete.”