But this time it wasn't a holiday, this was an opportunity. An opportunity to impress important national hockey stakeholders for the under 14s hockey ANZAC challenge.

After being selected in the New South Wales state squad last year, Hobbs went on to be a part for the Australian development team touring New Zealand and it was an experience he won't forget.

"It was pretty good - it opened up a whole new avenue for me. We went to Auckland first and played two games there then went to Hobbiton (Lord of the Rings location) before going to Cambridge," he recounted.

"At Cambridge we stayed in boarding houses, played four games there and returned home."

The side's tour was a moderate success with two wins and, with eyebrows raised, Hobbs was impressed by the quality of his opponents.

"They were very good - we played some classy schools like St Peter's Cambridge," he said.

"Over there they're able to train a lot more with each other but with us we had two training sessions before going over.

"They're a lot more cohesive with each other."

Despite a lack of training, the team had handy coaches in Glenn Turner and Michael Enright with Turner a former Olympian for the Kookaburras.

With their messages consistent over the weeks, Hobbs finds it easy to memorise exactly what was taught.

"Pass the ball early and go up the sides more," he quickly stated.

"They (opposition sides) played through the middle a lot and we took that advantage and went up the sides. It worked very well for us.

"They were really nice coaches."

In a squad with players ranging from Bathurst, Tamworth, Grafton, Wollongong and Sydney, the 14-year-old was able to meet a raft of new people in the sport.

And that part of the trip is one of the aspects that he cherished most.

"Learning new skills and meeting new people (was the most rewarding part)," he said.

"I've got about three or four peoples snapchats from the New Zealand teams and still talk to them. People in my team we all made a group chat and talk to each other as well."

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