He is known as one of the most prolific goal scorers in Black Sticks history and a mainstay of the side.
Simon Child has played 309 international matches, scored 148 goals, captained the national team and won multiple medals. A storied career spanning almost 20 years, but now the 36 year old is hanging up the stick.
"A few of my teammates told me it was time," joked Child. "No, I've been thinking about it for a long time. I'm 36 now and Paris was always going to be my last dance."
The Paris Olympics didn't go as planned for the Black Sticks Men, where they finished last without registering a win.
But Child was taking pride in the fact he pulled off a comeback from injury to make it a fourth Olympic Games.
"The fire and the passion to keep playing and make it to one last Olympics was still there. I'm really glad I still made it there."
The boy with spiked, bleached hair
Some may remember how it all started for the boy from South Auckland — a 16-year-old with spiked, bleached hair and the attitude to match who bolted onto the international stage.
"He tested the boundaries, there's no doubt about it," said former Black Sticks Men's coach Kevin Towns, who first selected Child in 2005. He had identified Child's exceptional talent early on, tracking his progress from junior levels to secondary school.
"You could tell right away he had something special. He just had something different, he had an instinct and he had things that you couldn't coach."
Towns also noting Child's competitive edge, a friendly fire that would play out in trainings as well.
"He's highly, highly competitive," said former Black Stick Phil Burrows.
"We'd often find ourselves on opposition teams at trainings and there would be some big, big blow ups!"
That competitive nature led him to excel on the international stage. Child has represented New Zealand at three Commonwealth Games and four Olympics. He was a pivotal part of the squad that clinched a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
"The one thing that sticks out is captaining New Zealand at the Rio Olympics and a special moment for me and my family."
There've been injuries, comebacks, goals and caps. Child was the fifth Black Stick to join the 300 club.
One achievement tantalisingly close
But one milestone he has come agonisingly short of is Burrows' all time leading goal-scoring record of 150.
Child came just two goals short.
"It was something I was very keen to knock off and go one up on Phil but ultimately ran out of time and didn't quite get the job done.
"Burrows was a bit of a mentor for me, he told me once or twice when I was his roommate to zip it because I was asking too many questions," Child laughed, "but he, and Ryan Archibald, I always looked up to and tried to emulate what they were doing."
While it's the end of an era for the prolific scorer, the Child legacy will live on. At the local South Auckland Hockey club in Papatoetoe, his parents names are etched on the dugouts.
His dad is Rick Child a former NZ age group representative and his mum is Sheryl Law a former Black Sticks striker. Both are longstanding servers of the game.
"They sacrificed so much time and money and they gave me a huge amount of self belief," added Child, "without them I'm not sure any of it would have happened.
"This game has given so much and I can only hope to give back, you know, as much and more."
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