If following the fortunes of local athletes is your Commonwealth Games thing then start brushing up on short corners, undercutting and scoops.
Because when it comes to producing competitors from this part of the world for the once every four years event, no sport comes close to hockey.
The influence of Dundee, Fife and Perthshire on one of the nation’s most popular outdoor (and indoor) games shows no sign of waning.
There are 11 women and men about to represent Scotland in Birmingham who have been born, brought up, or played club hockey here – most of them in all of those categories.
And one of the most decorated hockey stars from Dundee, Vikki Bunce, will be the assistant coach with the ladies squad, having played in three Games herself.
GB striker Charlotte Watson will team up with ex-Dundee Wanderers club-mates Becky Ward and Jess Ross, with former Grove Menzieshill midfielder Katie Robertson the squad’s vice-captain.
Nicki Cochrane, Sarah Jamieson and Ellie Wilson have also previously turned out for Dundee’s two leading clubs, while Louise Campbell is a former pupil of Viewlands Primary and Perth Academy and the baby of the group, 20-year-old Eve Pearson, comes from Dunfermline.
On the men’s side, Invergowrie brothers Cammy and Jamie will represent the well-known Dundee hockey surname, Golden.
Bunce, who was still playing (and scoring lots of goals) for Wanderers indoors last season at 39 but pledges the stick has been packed away for good, believes future generations of national players emerging from this hockey hotbed shouldn’t be taken for granted.
But the present day quantity and quality is undeniable.
“From a Dundee perspective it’s a wee bit disappointing a lot of those players are no longer in the city but they’re certainly doing this part of the country proud,” said Bunce, who earned 206 caps for Scotland and 14 for Britain before retiring at elite level in 2016.
“People move for jobs and other things in their lives.
“Becky was at Wanderers as a bairn, so was Jess, so was Charlotte, so was I.
“We’ve definitely produced a few who have come all the way through.
“Others have come here for university and we’ve picked them up at that point.
“Looking at the youngsters coming through now I don’t see it being as fruitful as it has been but I guess it’s for the local clubs to try and solve that problem for future years.”
‘Exciting’ Charlotte Watson
Bunce narrowly missed out on GB selection for three Olympic Games.
She’s been a mentor to Watson, who had a similar ‘close but no cigar’ experience two years ago.
There will be other Olympic Games to motivate the 24-year-old, still in the British set-up, but Bunce believes the English-based striker is going to light up the hockey venue at Birmingham University over the next week and a bit.
“I’m not coaching Charlotte directly these days other than when she comes up with Scotland but we’ve been a long time on the journey,” said the Scotland great.
“She’s a really exciting player – absolutely rapid and has very good hands.
“Charlotte was unlucky ahead of the Olympics.
“Prior to going down south to be part of the GB set-up she’d never experienced any serious injuries.
“Then in the year before Tokyo she just seemed to get really unlucky.
“She got hit in the face and the knee. It wasn’t as if it was just soft tissue injuries.
“That impacted on her ability to train.
“She’s coming back from injury just now actually after doing her ankle. She’s been working her socks off – cancelling her holiday to work on her rehab, things like that.
“She’ll be desperate to put on a good show at Birmingham.
“That will then do her GB aspirations the world of good.
“I’m a big fan and there’s so much more to come.
“It would be great if she could go that one step further than I managed.”
Girls in a ‘good place’
Assessing the team as a whole, Bunce observed: “The girls are in a good place.
“We’ve got a new, exciting squad in terms of the coaching group and the youngsters coming through.
“We’re aiming to finish third in our group (two progress to the semi-finals). Second is a big ask but it is possible.
“We’ve got a good blend of experience between old heads, players in the middle of their careers and ones who will be getting their first caps in Birmingham.
“You just never know until you’re tested.”
Bunce’s day job is a high performance manager with sportscotland.
She has responsibility for five sports – athletics, tennis, netball, sailing and shooting – and that involves performance pathway, recruitment and other support work.
There won’t be much down-time for her in the athletes’ village.
🇬🇧 RT | GB Hockey | As voted by your, the latest #MomentOfTheWeek is this goal by VikkiBunce for ScottishHockey at the 2014 Champions Challenge I 👏
We can see why you voted for it too… 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Gn8ZuxeCKA
— DragFlickNews™ (@dragflickscores) June 5, 2020
“It’s an interesting job and it keeps me on my toes,” said Bunce. “I’ve got team sports as well as individual ones.
“Two of my five are in the Games so I’ll have work to do during my time in Birmingham – things like capturing data on how they’re doing.
“We’ll be looking at performance of other countries as well. I’ve been given a couple of big athletics nations.
“It will be a fair bit of work – it’s stressing me just thinking about it!”
The Golden boys
Bunce used to be the hockey coach at the High School of Dundee, and two of her most talented pupils will be playing in the Scotland men’s team – the Golden brothers.
“It’s a great story,” she said.
“Scottish hockey has a tradition of siblings – the Stotts, the Dicks, the Forsyths, the Marshalls, Robyn Collins in our team and her brother Murray in the boys, and the Goldens.
“They’re magic – really good players.
“I coached Cammy more than Jamie, because Jamie’s that little bit younger.
“Boys hockey at the High School isn’t nearly as high a priority as rugby, let’s just say.
“There was a vast – and I do mean vast – difference in the skillset those two boys brought compared to the others in the squad.
“Cammy’s now out in Germany and Jamie is down in England.
“I’m not close enough to the men’s programme to say for definite but I’d like to think they’ve both got GB potential.”
🇬🇧 RT | GB Hockey | 👌 Cammy's golden finish
🛑 Superb stroke save from tommyialexander
🔥 _davidforsyth converts brilliant breakaway
👏 Hat-trick finished off in style by c_golden14Vote for your #MomentOfTheWeek from when ScottishHockey finished 2⃣ … pic.twitter.com/eKO2VELJNR
— DragFlickNews™ (@dragflickscores) July 1, 2020
There has been no funding for full-time training as was the case for Glasgow 2014 – and that’s unlikely to ever happen again, according to Bunce.
But that won’t impact the appreciation of another (almost) home Games.
“I looked forward to Glasgow so much but it wasn’t the experience we all hoped it would be,” said Bunce. “It didn’t quite go to plan.
“My first at Melbourne (2006) was amazing.
“I don’t know if it’s looking back with rose-tinted glasses but it was special – the village and everything that went with it.
“Our house was just across from the Kiwis and every time someone arrived they did the haka. Things like that give you memories for life.
“It was lovely to have friends and family at Glasgow but the results and the way things went definitely tarnished the memories.
“Birmingham will hopefully feel like the best of both.”
Conversation