Roller Hockey
Roller hockey is a rare but fantastic sport. I use this space to share a bit about it. I used to play roller hockey semi-professionally back in Chile. It is a family thing. My dad and uncles played when they were young. Below in the picture my dad Jorge (standing with the moustache) and two uncles: Hector, the one standing to the left of my dad, and Francisco (Pancho) Miranda the one at the bottom right with the moustache. My dad and Pancho played for Chile. Pancho played several world cups, was selected to play in the rest of the world team, obtained the prize for the best in all sports in Chile (journalists' prize), and scored the winning goal against Argentina for the only time Chile (men team) ever won the Copa America.
Here some picture for the period 2003-2013 and 2017- present (I had to definitely stop playing hockey during my PhD 2013-2017). From 2002 to 2008 I played in Bata, too. From 2011-2013 I played in Instituto Miguel Leon Prado. During 2017-2021 I played for Stafford Roller Hockey club, Brisbane, Australia. In 2022, I played again for Instituto Miguel Leon Prado in Chile. Currently, I continue playing when I can for Australia and Stafford club in Brisbane.
Here some recent photos from proudly wearing the green and gold.
The tradition continues. Our kids, Tomas and Ignacia, also play. Simon might as well join...
Australia Day Cup Final 2020. (Photo by REL Photography).
This picture is from the Australia Day Cup 2019 (January). We lost the final in penalties against Melbourne A. Besides the final, we played 5 matches. We defeated four teams (Mordialoc white, Modialoc red, Melbourne A, and Lisport) and tied with one team (Melbourne A). Fun tournament, nice photo. (Photo by REL Photography)
Here playing for Queensland. We defeated Victoria and won the Champsions Cup 2018.
Friendly game with my childhood teammates. BATA is the name of the team (almost) of almost all my life. We won the juniors national cup in 2004 and 2005. Then, we won the seniors national cup 2005, 2006 (second tournament), and 2007 (first tournament). We participated in 3 south american champions cups in Mendoza 2005, Recife 2006, and Malargue 2007. Below, playing my last tournament with Bata , before leaving to the U.S in 2013. We ended up 4th of Chile.
American Cup, Buenos Aires 2008. Before I was nominated to the Chilean team, I quit hockey to focus on my master in economics. Few weeks after I came back to play, I received that call every player is waiting for! In this tournament, we ended up 3rd after Argentina and Catalonia (invited). We defeated Brazil (a good team) and I scored my first goal for Chile! (the first and last official goal! the rest were in friendly games against: Catalonia, Colombia, Andorra, Macao). 30 minutes before the semi-final I was in a cyber cafe officially sending out my master thesis. I could not warm up well with the team. However, I still played all the match and it was the second best match I ever played for Chile. We could not make it (lost 3 to 1) but one year later we defeated a very similar Argentinian national team (2-1) in a friendly game in Chile (in preparation for the World Cup 2009). That was the best match I ever played for Chile. [Argentinians are the best hockey players in the world , especially the ones from San Juan.]
World cup, Vigo 2009 (I am number 2). We ended up 9 among 16 countries in the first division of world roller hockey. It was not the world cup I wanted to play though. In the first match, we lost 4-1 against Argentina (they ended up 2nd in the world cup) and I got blue card (2 yellows and you were out of the game for 3 minutes). After that, we lost our chance to get into the best 8 when lost against Portugal (they ended up 3rd in the world cup). Then, when playing for spots from 9 to 16, the motivation and concentration was not the same (it should have been though). Still, I managed to play very well against Colombia and England, we won and I played most of the game. Against Germany, I have to say I played a horrible game!
Here I was playing for Instituto Miguel Leon Prado (after BATA this team was very important in my career). We won the national cup twice in 2011 (the first and the last). This picture is from the south american champions cup, Sertaozinho Brazil 2011. The game before the game in this picture, we defeated U.V.T. (from San Juan Argentina) 7-3, one of the best teams in south america. In this picture, we were about to play against the local team (Sertaozinho). We had to win! We were wining 3-2 (the stadium was full and we were, with that score, qualifying to the semifinal! I scored our 3rd goal!!!). However, 0.4 seconds before the end of the match they scored! With the 3-3 we did not make it to the finals! yes, 0.4 seconds! so sad!
After winning the national cup in 2011 (with Instituto Miguel Leon Prado), in the interview (the match was on TV) I thanked my dad for all his support.