Nothing makes me happier than hearing the Thunder Woo Crew! – Jamie Woodman

For an entire season — and many before — Perth Thunder has given us joy, frustration, laughter, heartbreak, and plenty of excitement.

As a little tribute to our beloved team, I’m starting a series to introduce the players we all love cheering for.

To kick things off, our captain, Jamie Woodman, has kindly shared his story with us. I’m so happy to present this first — and hopefully not the last — instalment of the Meet Perth Thunder series.

Enough from me — time to hear from the man who wears the “C”!

The Journey Begins

I remember my first time getting called up to the Australian Men’s National Team. I was studying for some of the huge exams midway through my chiro degree, and it was a grind!

The call came while I was in the library, and between people shushing me, I got to talk to the team manager. At first, I thought he was cutting me, and when he said I made the team, I was so excited I just packed all my stuff up and went home — the exam be damned!

I was going to play for Australia!

My hockey journey began when I was only eight years old. I went to a birthday party at Cockburn Ice Arena and stayed around after the public session to wait for a friend’s mum to pick them up.

While waiting, I sat down and watched a Pee Wee game and seeing all the kids jump on each other and play was the best thing I’d ever seen!

I still remember my first time on the ice, feeling my skates wobble under me, unable to control my edges yet. Even now, when I first skate out, I wait to see how my feet feel.

My Passion and Drive

The main parts of my life are my family and my business.

I have an amazing, rambunctious toddler, plus a small baby who arrived earlier this year. All my partner, Lauren, and I can do is try and keep up with them as best as we can!

Outside of hockey and my family, I own and run a chiropractic clinic in Willagee. I’ve had it for about a year now, and it’s been incredible to surmount the challenges and fun of running my own business.

Willagee Chiropractic

The only reason I’m able to play hockey is that I have a lot of support. Without Lauren, I wouldn’t be able to commit to anything outside of work and family. It’s her sacrifice, as well as having my parents and her parents so involved with us, that allows me to play.

Having the support of family is a must-have!

Jamie with Thunder’s true Captain!

Career Development

I was really happy when I started playing for the local juniors team, Cockburn Hawks. Back in the day, they were just a small club battling it out with the big north of the river clubs. We didn’t win a lot those years, but coming up, it was such a great group to be a part of.

It was really memorable for me playing Brown (Open Men’s State Tournament). I got to play that during COVID with all the guys I grew up playing with. It was so much fun! We had an insane team and got to have the best time!

In my rookie year, I got to be a rookie of the year candidate, only to have the other player put up 36 points or something crazy to my four.

Still, it was great to feel like I belonged so early on.

I think getting to be captain of the Perth Thunder at 21 was a big part of my career too.

Overcoming Adversity

I got cut from the Australian under-18s team when I was 17 years old, despite having had some great testing at a few national camps.

Getting over that devastation to become a long-term Australian representative has been amazing.

It was almost like having a chip on my shoulder!

I’m not much of a stats person, but I remember two years ago getting the chance to quarterback the 2nd power play for Thunder. Somehow, we had an insane run at the end of the year!

We were scoring a bunch, and it was so much fun for us!

To quarterback the 2nd power play means to run and coordinate that power play unit — guiding the flow, calling plays, and helping the team take advantage of those opportunities.

Captain Thunder!

My proudest achievement is being named captain of the Thunder!

I clearly remember the day I got told that I was going to be captain.

I was in the Czech Republic with the national team. I didn’t have a SIM card over there, so I just did wifi hopping.

We were leaving to visit Prague for a few hours when I got the message from the management. I opened it, and it said “congratulations, etc, etc”, and before I could respond and say anything, the bus drove off, causing me to lose the wifi signal!

I left them on read for 3 hours, and was a little stressed about it!

Being the captain means a huge amount to me. This was a team I grew up dreaming about, and having a chance to skate with— let alone lead —them never feels dull.

As captain, I organise the very important coffee trips when we’re on the road. I drive one of the cars, and sometimes help out with niggles and soreness. I generally just try and be a good team mate behind the scenes because at the end of the day, that’s all we need to be to bring the best out of each other.

Biggest Challenges

The time I spend away from my kids is the hardest part of this league. We aren’t getting paid, we don’t live in luxury while away and knowing my partner has to keep everything else moving while I’m gone is hard.

On the Road

My favourite part of roadtrips is when we can get everyone together and have a great storytelling session or a good game of werewolf, one of our favourite card games.

Werewolf is a social deduction party game about deception, persuasion, and teamwork. It’s usually played with 7–20 people and a deck of role cards, which determine who’s secretly a werewolf and who’s a villager.

The best thing I think I’ve witnessed was when we got about 30 people together to play a game of werewolf in person and had it turn into absolute madness!

Future Expectations

Right now, Thunder is right smack bang in its Goodall Cup window.

Our entire core is made up of veterans who have played for a long time, know the league and don’t fear any team or building.

Next year is so important because you never know when the window is going to close, and other teams are so good.

After so many finals heartbreaks, we are driven to make it happen!

We are a great team and can’t wait to put in the work in the off-season to build ourselves up better.

Message to the Woo Crew

What we need is for the fans to just keep turning up.

We have the best fans in the league. There is never any drama; everyone is so happy — win or lose. Other teams’ fans come into our building and are welcomed, because hockey is so niche that we all have to get along.

You turning up and loving the game like you do is infectious, and the only reason any of us get to pull on that jersey!

-Jamie

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share this wonderful story with us, Jamie.

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Do you (fan, player, rookie, parent, partner, anybody) have a story to tell about your journey with Perth Thunder? No matter how big or small it is, please DM me on Facebook or send me an email.

Theavdhoogt@gmail.com

Thank you for banging the glass with me! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.