Atkinson feels heat at the next level - December 2015

NAME FOR THE FUTURE:  Former WHS student Martin Atkinson wore the NZ Futures Under-23 colours proudly in Canberra.

Whanganui hockey export Martin Atkinson will wait to hear about his future prospects after a tough baptism to transtasman hockey in Canberra last month.

The 21-year-old was making a quick trip home to Whanganui on Saturday after returning from the NZ Futures Under-23 tour to play Australia over November 19-27, with the New Zealanders losing the series 4-1.

Both 20-man teams consisted of about 10 players eligible to be selected for next year's Under-20 Junior World Cup, along with some older players being kept in the spotlight as they look to break into their national senior development squads and test teams.

"Pretty exciting," said the attacking midfielder about his week of competition at international level.

"The heat was quite stressful on the body. I remember one game I lost 2.4kg."

Temperatures for the squad's first training sessions rose to 36C in the Australian capital, before heading back down to the lower 20s and then levelling around 30 degrees for the latter games.

Atkinson would get around 40-45 minutes of game time per match, and found even after taking fluids on the sideline that his mouth would dry out within moments of entering the fray.

The Australians played a typical aggressive style, and only really made adjustments after the game they lost, he said.

"Didn't know quite what to expect - the pace of the hockey, playing somewhere the temperature is different ... "

The teams played twice a day with a rest day in between, and then they played the final match after another rest day.

Atkinson was happy with his speed and fitness, even if maintaining intensity levels in the heat was difficult.

Coach Bryce Collins has gone straight into camp with the New Zealand Junior team, so Atkinson hopes to hear feedback in about a week's time.

He will also be involved in the junior camp as a practice opponent, as the squad plays warm-up games to get them ready for the January qualifiers for the Junior World Cup.

Atkinson paid a visit to the St Johns club to thank them for some key sponsorship to help cover the costs of travelling to Australia.