I got hit in the boobs, and other sporting mishaps
In the middle of attempting to clear the ball from an attacking player she accidently elbowed be square in the chest. Right through my armour, straight into my sternum, knocking me clean off my feet and winding me. Such is the life of a hockey goalkeeper. Afterwards, I was speaking to one of the umpires who called all hockey goalies made and said, jokingly, that we should all be locked up. Yet, I love it. Being part of the team, being the one to make the last second saves, controlling the flow of the defence, there is something awesome about it. Honestly, I think it is the best position in all of sport.
Knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows, fingers. All damaged, bashed, broken, torn. I my right pinkie finger is crooked after it took a full force hit from a coach smashing a ball at me. Fun times. When people talk about sport they see the pros, the ones who get paid to do their thing, yet in field hockey only the top 0.1% get paid, and even then it is just enough to live on. Hockey is still in the 2020s an amateur sport even at the highest level, and as such we do it for the fun of the thing. Getting hurt and injured is one of the hazards of the sport, yet not once have I wanted to stop, even when my right shoulder was crocked enough to force me out for a month.
My job on the pitch is to get hit by the ball, to put my body in the way of any shot that comes my way, and to clear my lines. My armour is thick enough to not feel most blows, yet unless a hockey ball it’s a boney area the worst I end up is bruises. Hockey as a general sport has its dangers, and I have seen enough outfield players get hit in squishy areas to know how bad it can be. Thankfully the worst injury I ever had was a broken toe, but the thing that keeps us coming back together is the team and team spirit.
Women’s hockey has a vibe to it that is hard to explain. It is both friendly and fiercely competitive. I have played since I was 18, though most of the women I play with started at 10 or 11. For them it is a natural part of their lives, skills that are honed and worked on, always seeking to get better. Some players just want to do it to keep fit, others to play at the highest level, others are like me and want to push themselves to the limit. When we get hurt we pull together, when we succeed we celebrate, when we lose we commiserate. I love the vibe of being part of the team.
One thing that injuries do put into perspective is how much pain are you prepared to put up with in order to do the things you enjoy. I have always been sports mad. I love sport, love being part of the team, love pushing myself. Since I was old enough to kick a ball I have played football, ruby, swum, done cross country, played cricket, tried my hand at anything on offer. Not that I was great at any one thing, I just loved the process. Then I get a serious ear condition, had an operation on it, and got told I could never play sport without a helmet ever again lest it break my skull. This broke a big part of me, as I was unable to do the things that kept me fit. At 15 I was suddenly shorn of a massive part of my world. Then I discovered hockey at uni and that was that.
Hockey players do it for the love of the sport, and getting injured is part of that. Most games and most training sessions leave me bruised, my muscles ache, yet also with that feeling of doing something, being part of it. The only thing I worry about is getting concussed and having long term neurological issues from not giving myself a chance to heal. In the last four years I have probably had two concussions, both of which came from people shoving me over. I am always, always careful about my recovery from those, though compared to outfield players I am lucky because I can take a full hit ball to my helmet and not feel it.
Ultimately I play because I love the sport, love playing sport in general. At 41 I really should slow down and take care of my knees, hips, ankles etc, but where is the fun in that? Yes, I occasionally get hit in the boobs, break a finger, get battered and bruised, but what is life without the odd hockey ball or twenty being smashed at you? Maybe I do I have a screw loose, but the ladies I play with week in week out make it work it. Vive la hockey, and here’s to the next match.
