Brand named NSWIS Junior Athlete of the Year
Kookaburras’ forward and Actuarial student Tim Brand has capped off an almost perfect year with another award, delivering an early birthday present in the process.
Published on the 29 November 2021
Part of the silver medal winning Australian Men’s Hockey team – the Kookaburras – at his debut Olympics in Tokyo mid-year, including five goals for him personally, Brand was named 2021 NSWIS Junior Athlete of the Year on Friday.
He turned 23 on Monday.
Brand, who is studying a double degree in Commerce and Actuarial Studies, was also a finalist for the NSWIS Male Athlete of the Year award won by rowers Alexander Purnell, Spencer Turrin and Jack Hargreaves.
Making his achievements all the more remarkable, Brand has studied remotely from Perth for much of his double degree with UNSW, due to his national squad training commitments, but still achieving a Distinction average in one of the more complex degrees any university could offer.
At one point, this included sitting Business School exams overseas.
In September, Brand was the youngest player to earn a nomination for last season’s International Hockey Federation’s Hockey Stars Men’s Player of the Year.
A Ben Lexcen scholar throughout his degree, Brand is also a past winner of the UNSW Academic Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.
Migrating from the Netherlands to Australia with his Mum and Dad, as a three-year-old, Brand grew up on Sydney’s North Shore and learnt much of his hockey in the Ryde-Hunters Hill area.
He made his national debut for the Kookaburras as a 19-year-old in June 2018 and has 18 International goals in 42 matches.
The striker was instrumental in the Kookaburras run to the gold medal match in Tokyo, won by Belgium, clinching the winning penalty in Australia’s nail-biting quarter final shoot-out win against the Netherlands.
Brand is due to finish his degree at the end of this year.
Tim Brand in action for the Australian Kookaburras (Credit; Hockey Netherlands)