Whakatāne hockey player Brad Rothwell is still coming to terms with how the past few months have played out.

Rothwell was part of the recent FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands and performed strongly for New Zealand.

At the world cup they came up against Netherlands, Argentina and Japan in pool play, before defeating Wales, Pakistan and Japan again in the next round of action.

Their final match was a 6-3 win against Ireland, securing ninth.

Rothwell said going to an event like that was something he’d wanted to do since he first picked up a hockey stick.

“It was such a cool experience, to have a hockey world cup in Holland which is like the pinnacle of where hockey is at the moment. It was so cool and something I always dreamed of being part of; to make it a reality was so special.”

Rothwell said they were reasonably happy with their efforts.

I think as a team we were somewhat happy with how we went, ranked 11th going into the tournament and finishing in ninth place.

“We wanted higher, but we always knew it was going to be a challenge with the Netherlands and Argentina in our pool.

“But overall, we played some good hockey after the pool stage and cemented ninth in the world.”

Playing Argentina was particularly special.

“The whole tournament was so cool but playing Argentina, where if we won, we would’ve been in the top eight, was pretty cool.”

Rothwell is still overseas playing club hockey.

“I’m staying in the Netherlands to play a club season over with NMHC (Nijmegen Hockey Club) but I’ll be back in New Zealand over Christmas time to play our Premier hockey league while it’s too cold to play hockey in the Netherlands.”

Rothwell appreciated learning from more experienced players.

“It was great to play with and watch the older guys in action seeing how they dominate against some of the best teams and players in the world.”

He rates Netherlands club hockey incredibly highly and knows it will benefit his game.

When back in New Zealand, it’s likely he will be part of the Mavericks hockey team again for the New Zealand Hockey League and he has his sights on helping the Black Sticks qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.