FORMER Ramblers and national hockey star Shayne Cormack was one of the best attacking players in the senior women’s league in her heyday.
Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Cormack and her family moved to Namibia in 1986 when she was just 15 years old.
Known for her electrifying pace on the hockey field, she was also a renowned high jumper and specialised in long jump and softball at Centaurus Secondary School in Windhoek.
She started her hockey career with United because her high school hockey coach played for the Olympia-based outfit, but she moved on to Ramblers after two years, and went on to spend 11 years playing in the top-flight club.
“I really enjoyed playing for Ramblers because the team had so many good players and we dominated the woman’s hockey league for almost a decade. In fact, I can ‘t remember not winning the league with the ‘Beautiful Rammies ‘.
“The league was so competitive back in the day and the standard was very high. I was 20 years old when I joined Ramblers in 1989 and having been a first team regular, I was part of the pre-independence national team that participated in provincial tournaments in South Africa,” she says.
The former attack-minded star, who made her international debut for Namibia against Zimbabwe during the All-Africa Games in Harare in 1991, played her last match for the national team at the Indoor Hockey World Cup in 2011, aged 39.
Cormack, who wants to be remembered as someone who was passionate about hockey and a fierce competitor during her playing days, says hockey flows in her blood.
“My cousin and uncle were also Springboks during their playing days and anyone who knows my late father will agree that he was someone who was very passionate about hockey, as well as someone with exceptional organisational skills.
“The motto in my family was that you should consider the team you play in first, because we believe that no one is bigger than the team. It is also nice to remember that you are only as good as the team you are in, and it takes team effort to guarantee success,” she says.
She pointed to the match against Kenya at the 1999 All-Africa Games as her most memorable for the national team.
At the time, she says Erwin Handura was just starting his tenure as national coach, and was still learning his trade at the highest level and they didn ‘t get a medal.
Another standout match for her was against powerhouse New Zealand during the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in 1998.
She explains that the confidence and professionalism displayed by their opponents on that day made her realise that she wanted to play at a higher level.
Cormack, who was also very comfortable playing as an attacking midfielder, represented Namibia at two All Africa Games in 1999 and 2003 and the African Championships in 2005, winning a bronze medal at the last tournament in Pretoria, South Africa.
She says that running with the ball, getting into the circle and getting the shot on goal, followed by the gruelling training regimen and the packed hockey stadiums with cheering crowds are some of the things she misses as a former player.
A normal day for Cormack always starts with planning and networking for the next opportunity, while prayer for inspiration is an integral part of her daily life because she never does anything without the guidance of the Lord.
The retired star has been married to Trevor Cormack, also a former Ramblers and national team star, for 30 years. They are blessed with two daughters – Jerrica (32) and Kiana (20) who have both also represented the national team.
Apart from running a hockey development programme, the former national star and her husband also opened a coffee shop in Klein Windhoek six months ago.
“It has always been my dream to plough back into the community; that has been so wonderful to me throughout my playing career and being someone who was always passionate about the youth, my family and I started K5 Sports cc, which is a hockey development programme.
“We are solely focused on the development of hockey in Namibia and creating more opportunities for those who share our love for the game. We have developed many young stars who are today part of the various age group national teams,” she adds.
Cormack, who has since established herself as one of the finest youth development coaches in the country, also fulfilled her lifelong dream of going to the Olympic Games by qualifying the national under-18 team for the Youth Olympics in Argentina in 2018.
The Buenos Aires-hosted event proved that the Namibian youth didn ‘t just go there to participate but to compete, by even beating the much-heralded Australia en route to a respectable and historic quarter-final finish.
Apart from the under-18 side, Cormack was a development coach for the national under-16 and under-21 girls ‘ teams, while she also enjoyed a stint as an assistant coach with the national indoor men’s side.
While owning the Saints Hockey Club, the Cormacks also own the Namibian franchise of the prestigious South African-based Pro Series Indoor (PSI).
“The PSI franchise is probably the best thing that could have happened to Namibian hockey. It is impacting the development of the local game a very great deal. It is exposing our juniors to top class competition which is provided by their South African counterparts.
“We go to the annual event, which is staged in South Africa, since 2015 and I can proudly declare today that we have won the Franchise of the Year award four times so far, with the last win coming in 2019 before the competition was stopped due to Covid-19,” she notes.
The Namibian contingent is randomly selected from children who undergo trials, then the teams are selected for the various age groups that are going to South Africa.
The Namibian franchise will be taking teams, consisting of players under the ages of 11 and 12 for the junior nationals to Cape Town in July, while the second group is expected to leave in December for the senior event for under-13 to 18 age groups, also in Cape Town.
Cormack, who has undergone three spinal operations to date, admits that she misses playing with the youth, but says she wishes for a coordinated and visionary youth development programme at national level for the betterment of the sport.
