The last time I saw Stacey Siu Butt play was at the Pan American Games in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. That was way back in 1995. A time that seems a world away now.

The scene in the Woodbrook Youth Facility in 2009 was quite different. My appreciation for the game’s finer points, however, has not increased since that time. But that doesn’t stop me from admiring ’Suckie’s’ game.

Friday last, her Magnolias team opened their club’s indoor tournament against Checkers. It was not a high-scoring match as indoor encounters tend to be. But, surprise, surprise, the club captain struck home both goals. But those hits were not what really caught the eye.

Quick wrist movement and close control allowed her to weave some pretty patterns that opened up a few opportunities for her teammates. It was that smooth touch and her eye for an opening that was outstanding in a player who has been outstanding for such a long time.

Already an American University Hall of Famer, it probably will only be a matter of time before she becomes a First Citizens Hall of Fame inductee as well.

Watching that game, I was reminded of how easily in this town talent can be taken for granted. But here is a player who is still a loyal and influential member of her club, 22 years after joining, and is at the same time still also an outstanding contributor to the national team.

I wonder how she would have fared had she been Argentine and a member of, say, that Pan Am side that swept the competition before them in ’95. That ’what if’ question could apply even more so to the male maestro, Kwan Browne.

Monday gone, another player also made this observer take notice.

Wayne Legerton moved around the court with great stickwork, and like Siu Butt for Magnolias, he was both goal-maker and goalscorer for the curiously named Throw Your Frame outfit in their 10-2 demolition of SHAPE.

But hockey in T&T lives in the deep shadow of cricket and football. And while there is a creditable record to point to at Pan American level, it cannot claim bursts of Olympic glory like track and field. The stars in this sport do not play in the same arena of public attention. The Friday and Monday afternoon games, though, were reminders that a top athlete in operation in any sport can be a thing of beauty and admiration.

The Magnolias Indoor Tournament gave me the chance to deepen that appreciation.

The games came at a pace, as quick as the play on the court moved.

’Indoor hockey is a much quicker game,’ tournament media officer Analise Farrell explained. ’It’s faster, you sweat more, you run more, and you have to be a lot more alert.

’It’s not a big space, so you have to be real alert (as) to where you have to put the ball. Outdoor is a much bigger field and you have a lot more space between people. You can see the ball better because of the distance it travels to come to you. It is a lot of running as well, but the game itself is slower, it will never be as fast as indoor hockey.’

The Malvern and Corona Fatima veterans were probably thankful they didn’t have to cover as much ground in here. So the goals flew in. Fatima could not keep up with Malvern. They only netted four of the 15 goals scored. But smiles were never far away on either side.

’The older parties in hockey, they still want to play hockey, but they are not as fast-paced as the championship teams would be, so their game is a slower game. They are just in it for the fun,’ said Farrell.

There is a cash prize for the winners of this week-long event. But this is clearly not just about competition.

’It’s a very family-oriented sport as well. If you have a sister in hockey, bet your bottom dollar your brother will be in it as well, your mother was in it or your father was in it.’

Tournaments like this one also help to fill the large gaps in the indoor calendar. And they also enhance the sport’s community feel.

’National Indoor is only for Championship (Division) players,’ Farrell explains, ’that’s why clubs have taken it upon themselves to do these tournaments that everybody could play indoor...It’s a big fund-raiser for the clubs, it brings everybody together. It keeps the hockey spirit among the clubs.’

That Friday afternoon in that small space, generations of players crossed paths in a setting that allowed for ole talk. I could see how today’s young stick handler could still be suiting up two decades from now. Or maybe they may be like some of the folks in the stands last weekend, watching their sons and daughters play.

You don’t see scenes like that at cricket and football matches nowadays, except at school level.

It was not always so. And the disconnect has left administrators and coaches in those sports struggling to rekindle a spirit that really made club competition the hub of community life.

At least from the outside, hockey has kept its feet over the passage of time. And is preserving its heritage.

gwattley@trinidadexpress.com