He is just 17 and playing on the U21 national junior men's field hockey team, yet Andrew Kanerva still pegs himself as a late bloomer in the sport.
"When I first started to play, I wasn't a standout and even my first real accomplishment of making the provincial team I was still sitting on the bench," explained the Grade 12 student at South Delta Secondary.
"I had always been (training and playing) against older players, then one year I really started to improve.
I grew a bit, got faster and, more importantly, the coaches gave me a chance to play."
Since that breakthrough summer, Kanerva has never looked back and is considered one of the top upand-coming players in the country.
A busy summer included playing for Canada in an exhibition series against Mexico, Chile and the United States. He saved his best for last, scoring twice in a 3-1 series finale win over the Americans.
There are more national team commitments on the horizon, including matches against the U.S. in November and then on to Mexico in the new year for the World Junior Qualifying Tournament. A favourable result will send Canada to Brazil in 2013.
"(The junior team) has pretty much mapped out where we want to go and what we want to achieve over the next few years," said Kanerva. "Ideally, you want to one day work your way up to the senior national team and have the opportunity to go to the Olympics."
His rapid rise into an elite player also includes a position switch. He initially cracked the U14 provincial team roster as a defender but was later told the strengths of his game would be best utilized at forward.
"The coach basically told me I was an attacking player," Kanerva recalled.
"It doesn't have so much to do with speed and stick skills but rather knowing what to do by being in the right position in front of the net to score goals. It's your game smarts more than anything else."
He helped B.C. win the U16 nationals in 2009, which also provided the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2010 Pan American Junior Games. The additional training leading up to the departure for Mexico in early 2010 further enhanced Kanerva's development and he earned his junior national team spot that summer.
While the program is waiting for official word on the team's new full-time coach, Kanerva has been keeping sharp playing for Burnaby of the Vancouver Men's League Premier "A" Division. The squad features a number of his junior national teammates and is guided by Canadian assistant coach Indy Sehmbi.
The previous season saw Kanerva play for Burnaby as well as help his hometown Falcons earn promotion to the Premier B Division. League officials would not allow him to continue double duty and Kanerva chose Burnaby to play at the highest level and for its junior national team connections.
"I still get a chance to play (for my hometown club) in the spring season," said Kanerva. "It's more fun than anything else and is something I look forward to."
Immediate goals include the opportunity to solidify his national team program status even further by attending a carding camp in November that will determine limited federal funding for a certain number of players.
How that camp unfolds could also determine Kanerva's destination in the fall of 2012. Card status could mean attending UBC or UVic to be close to the national team program for training. If it doesn't happen, then Kanerva will even consider playing in Europe.
