He is not the world’s best goalie but he is surely one of the most dedicated.
The 37-year-old represents a time gone by when people picked a sport and stuck with it. He got his start in hockey at intermediate. His parents wanted him to play sport and his school offered netball or hockey.
Wong opted for the latter and that was that.
"Originally I had no clue," Wong said.
"I’d never seen a hockey stick or anything like that. The coach at the time put me at right inside and I can remember I was just lost.
"As the season went on I dropped lower and lower from an inside to a midfielder to a back. It looked as if I was going to stay as a fullback until the regular goal keeper got injured.
"The teacher or coach at the time thought I did a good job and they just left me there. I’ve played goal keeper ever since."
He joined the Kings United Hockey Club while still at secondary school. Wong made his debut for the B team in 1998 and, apart from one season in the top side, he has been happily toiling away in the second tier team ever since.
Wong is one of the first to practice and one of the last to leave — although that is partly to do with how long its takes to put on and take off all the equipment a keeper needs. It is a 10-minute ritual of straps and velcro and silly oversized shorts. His trademark bandanna is usually the first item which goes on. They were fashionable once, he claims. Now they are retro.
Wong’s commitment does not end when the fulltime whistle blows. If anything, that is when he is most active.
He joined the committee in 2008 and was president of the club from 2011 to 2015. Wong has stepped down from the committee now but still manages the Bs — a job he has done since 2008.
A passionate sports fan, Wong introduced some colour to those boring club memos as well.
"One thing I got told by the previous manager was that my job would effectively be to tell everyone when the game is on ... and just notify your team-mates about anything going on."
But Wong is a fast talker and a passionate sports fan, so the "150 characters" you can squeeze into a text was never going to be enough.
"I decided to jazz it up," he said.
"Also because I’m interested in reading about sports I thought I might spruce it up and it ended up being more of a match report basically.
"I think people loved it ... so I just sort of carried that on and added on little tidbits as well.
"It is a bit of a love and, as long as people enjoy it, I’ll continue on."
Wong has no plans to retire anytime soon. He wants to keep playing as long as he can and as long as he is needed in the team and around the club.While he has given a lot to the sport, it has been hugely rewarding.
"I’m a bit of a private person and just do my own thing. I guess hockey is a chance to meet and talk to people and that is the thing that keeps me going. It’s that camaraderie. It is a cliche but it is true."
● If you know someone like Nicholas Wong at your sports club, drop us a line. We are keen to do more grassroots profiles.
