by Clarissa Hartley

Famed international hockey star, she has made her mark on the field as a midfielder for her home country and the United Kingdom. Having secured gold at the 2015 European Championships, she’s represented her country in two Olympic Games, bringing home gold during the 2016 games in Rio and bronze in Tokyo 2020. Recently, she added another gold medal to her increasingly impressive repertoire at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

An Inspiring Hockey Journey

Six years old was the age when she first gripped a hockey stick in her hands. Often sent to various sports clubs and camps to utilize her energetic youth, she discovered her passion for hockey at a local Sunday club. Her talent quickly evident, her progression was anything but slow, working her way up from club, to county, regional level, and finally securing her place in the national teams for Under-16, Under-18, and Under-21, before being selected for the Senior team.

While recalling her journey, she stressed the importance of perseverance. Rejections and setbacks are inevitable, but they are not career-defining. What truly matters is how one responds to these setbacks.

A Glimpse of Her Training Regimen

Training full-time from Monday to Friday, her rigorous schedule consists of two-hour hockey sessions coupled with 75-minute gym sessions every day except Wednesday. This day of rest allows her to reset both physically and mentally. Keeping her schedule dynamic, she incorporates training reviews, tactics meetings, physio, psychology, and nutrition into her regime, which transforms into a full-on week.

Providing a peek into her games, she revealed a high-intensity environment demanding extreme agility and speed. Every play is closely monitored by GPS trackers embedded in their sports bras, analyzing the player’s speed, distances, and levels. This data aids coaches in ensuring that their training output mirrors or exceeds their actual game performance.

Strength Training & Nutrition

The importance of strength training is something she prioritized, noting it keeps the athletes robust and injury-free and enables them to manage load better. The gym sessions vary, focusing on power, acceleration, and explosive speed.

As for nutrition, the right fueling system is integral. An 80/20 rule guided her dietary habits: 80 percent healthy and nutritious food, with the remaining 20 percent allowing room for indulgence. Working with top nutritionists throughout her career has underscored the significance of both pre and post-training nutrition.

Recovery & Hockey Essentials

Understanding the wonders of the human body, she emphasized the importance of adequate rest, hydration, and nutrition for recovery, ensuring she utilizes the crucial 30-minute window after a game for effective recovery.

Her hockey kit essentials include her trusted STX Hockey Stick and OPRO Mouthguards. The perfect fit of the mouthguards and their effective protection made them an indispensable part of her sporting essentials, along with the sweatbands on her wrists due to her intensive workouts.

Crowning Glory

Reflecting on her greatest achievement, she recognized the surreal joy of claiming victory at three renowned tournaments – Olympic, European, and Commonwealth Games. More than the victorious moments on the field, what held equal significance was her off-pitch contributions. As visible and reachable role models for young aspirants, bringing hockey to schools and clubs, their influence reached far beyond the boundaries of the field, she remarked.

Through her tenacious spirit and fierce determination, our star athlete epitomizes the essence of not just sporting success but also the essence of a powerful role model that aspiring athletes can look up to.

international hockey star, training regimen, strength training, nutrition, recovery, 80/20 rule, hockey essentials, role model, STX Hockey Stick, OPRO Mouthguards, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, European Championships