Otumoetai Primary School is beaming with pride as one of its former students, Aiden Bax, has achieved a remarkable milestone in the realm of field hockey.

Aiden has been selected to represent New Zealand in the Under 21 Junior Black Sticks at the FIH Junior World Cup championship in Malaysia.

He will take on Belgium, Pakistan, and the Netherlands in the pool stages of the Junior World Cup.

The school, known for nurturing talent and fostering a spirit of excellence, is celebrating this accomplishment with a post on their Facebook page, as a testament to the dedication and skill that Aiden developed during his formative years at Otumoetai Primary School.

The entire school community is extending its heartfelt congratulations to Aiden in the social media post, and is eagerly anticipating cheering him on in this prestigious international competition.

“All the best to past student, Aiden Bax, who is playing for the New Zealand Under 21 Junior Black Sticks in Malaysia this week!” says the primary school’s commenter on Facebook.

“We are extremely proud and can’t wait to follow your progress.”

Messages of support can be sent to Aiden and his team here

The players have to fund much of their own way to the international championships, which can be financially challenging, unless a community of supporters can rally around to help each player get there.

Hockey New Zealand recently ran an online auction on Trademe to help with raising funds. One-in-a-lifetime experiences, items and memorabilia through the support of HNZ partners and the Vantage Black Sticks teams were up for grabs in the auction.

“While Hockey New Zealand is working hard to make our Future Black Sticks program as sustainable and as well funded as possible, these talented athletes have to self-fund a significant portion of the costs, and so we are hosting an auction to help ease their financial burden," says a Hockey New Zealand spokesperson.

While the men’s team will be playing in Malaysia, the NZ U21 women’s team is currently representing New Zealand at the FIH Junior World Cup in Chile.

Their tournament kicked off on November 30, and finishes on December 11. The NZ Under 21 women’s team have already played against England which they lost 5-0. They are playing Japan today, and have one more match, against USA, on December 4.

The Men’s Junior World Cup runs from Tuesday, December 5 to Saturday, December 16 at Kuala Lumpar Malaysia.

The Under 21 Junior Black Sticks will play Belgium on December 6. Pakistan on December 7, and the Netherlands on December 9.

Messages of support for both men's and women's teams can be sent by clicking here

Watch games live here.