Past: Vancouver Hawks and St. George's Saints
Present: Wright Field
Future: International club
Like his brother, Tom Fannin grew up at Wright Field and his field hockey coaches know him as a turf rat.
"If they're not at home or at school, they're playing field hockey together," said Vancouver Hawks and national U21 team coach Aaron Guest, who pays close attention to the twins shoes: "They have different tastes. Tom's shoes have more flash."
"That's how I tell them apart on the field," said the coach. "Off the field, it's almost impossible."
Unlike his brother, Tom plays on the front line and his goal-minded instincts are like his shoes. "Tom plays with a little more flare," said Guest. "He's creative and hes always trying to create chances."
After he transferred from Churchill secondary to St. George's in Grade 10, Tom played on a school team for the first time. He also played with the Hawks senior men and earned three caps with the U21 national team. He will play for the University of B.C. a year from now but will first compete for an international club. Last summer he travelled to New Zealand and played six games with the University of Canterbury.
Canada's depth in hockey is found on the ice, not the grass. Tom, 17, will leave the country so he can come back stronger.
"We're searching for improvement," he said. "The Canadian team went to the Olympics in 2008 and we want to qualify again. Rio is a goal, maybe not for us because were younger, but the Olympics in the future. Our plans are the same."
Twitter.com/MHStewart
