Connor Holland

Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

Connor came to prominence in junior hockey in Shepparton as a member of the Strikers Hockey Club. He was asked by a school friend if he would help the club out as it was short of players. His talent stood out as he represented the Strikers at both junior and senior level and was a valuable member of the back to back senior premierships in 2017 & 18.

He gained the opportunity to represent the Goulburn Valley at the 2013 Junior Country Championships at U13 level and from there this provided the pathway where he represented the zone at State Championships and then Victoria at National Championships.  He has progressed to represent Victoria at 5 different age groups and has won gold medals at both State and National level with Connor hitting the winning goal for Victoria in the U18 2018 campaign.

He was invited to join the Essendon Hockey Club initially at U14 level in the State competition, but it wasn’t long before he was playing senior hockey there as well. He relished the higher standard of competition and was promoted into the Essendon Premier League making his debut on in July 2016. In 2017 he co-captained Victoria in the School Pacific Games and was then chosen to represent Australia internationally as a member of School Sports Australia‘s tour of South Africa playing in all three tests. Connor was also selected to represent Hockey Victoria in a 2 week tour of Europe playing against leading teams in the Netherlands and Belgium competitions. In 2017 he furthered progressed his hockey pathway and was selected into the prestigious Emerging Vikings development squad and in 2019 he accepted a scholarship into the Victorian Institute of Sport Men's Hockey Program which he continues today. He is currently a member of the Australia U21 Burras men's squad and hoping some more international travel presents itself in the next few years. Connor Holland has been an exceptional junior hockey exponent and his future as a senior player is in good hands. Apart from Hockey Connor is a keen cricketer and has been a part of the recent success of his club Central Park / St Brendans, playing in a 1 day premiership and a B Grade flag. There is no doubt that a bright future in senior Hockey beckons for this Shepparton dynamo and we welcome him into the Sports Hall of Fame.