HOME AND AWAY LUCAS PICCIOLI: JOHNNY WATTERSONtalks to development officer for the Irish Hockey Association, a Venezuelan national who has integrated his love of hockey into his life in Dublin

I LEARNED my hockey back home in Venezuela. My dad has an awesome hockey background so I would say that it is in the family. The game there has gone through different phases, from big to small and then the other way around. At the moment it is finally starting to grow.

I didn’t hear of Ireland through hockey but I came because of my wife’s job. But I actually knew a South African player, Miles Warren, who was already living and playing here. That’s how I got involved in the Dublin club, Corinthians, for the first time.

I now play with Rathfarnham club Three Rock Rovers.

My impression of Ireland is that it’s a very wet and damp country with loads of friendly people and in my job I get to meet a lot of people.

My role with the Irish Hockey Association is as a development officer for two hockey branches, Leinster and the South East. The role is really varied, which is one of the things I love about it.

In a nutshell, my job is to continuously develop, grow and strengthen the sport of hockey within these two branches in Ireland.

That covers everything from introducing hockey to new schools to working within the club structure to help strengthen clubs that are already out there. I love that I am in the position to give back something to the sport, which has given me so much.

You cannot compare the hockey here with the hockey back home. You cannot compare the levels.

Even though Venezuela has a population of 27 million, hockey is not even ranked in the top 10 sports. In Ireland it is such a close-knit community with great volunteers.

The level of club hockey since I have been here – and I’ve been her four years now – has really improved and with improving coaching structures and development work at grass roots level, that’s going to continue.

I guess that the game has also changed in other ways. When I got here you got the chance to stay and have a cup of tea or a beer and maybe sandwiches when your match was over.

Nowadays it is very rare to see that happening. It only happens when you are making a long journey to a club in another region. I think this has to do with the fact that some clubs have amazing facilities and some have just very poor facilities.

There is also a social structure of mixed sport, a strong volunteer base, a friendly family ethos that makes the club scene quite attractive for people willing to either play at social or competitive levels.

At national level here I really think Ireland has the potential to qualify for the Olympics.

The men were extremely close to making it to New Zealand (a qualifying tournament prior to the Beijing Games).

There is a strong player base in both the ‘A’ teams and the senior squads. We also have top quality coaches in both the men’s and women’s set ups.

I really hope we can make it for 2012. It would give our sport a massive boost in the country.