|
"A
journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
--
Lao-Tsu
In a week when England Hockey announced that their
budget from Sport England was to be cut by up to 60%, 6 England players
decided to take that first step back into the world of International
Hockey.
Among them was Ipswich star Leisa King. Leisa has
always been an enigma in hockey circles; a player blessed with huge
amounts of natural talent and an unfair reputation as a difficult player
to coach, she did not bloom internationally until her late 20’s. The
star of the England team at the 2000 Commonwealth Games she seemed on
course to fulfill her destiny of being an Olympic athlete when the GB
Hockey wagon came spectacularly off the rails. It is old news now but when
the GB Women’s team failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in
Athens it was a crushing blow to all involved and many players called
their International careers into question. Leisa admitted in an interview
back in October 2004 that she did not know if she would ever play for her
country again “It is something I
need to think about. If I choose to do it then I have to put everything
into it again.”
During those
4 months things have really changed at England hockey. On the positive
side Ex-Canterbury coach Danny Kerry has been appointed as the England
coach and early results look promising. On a negative side the future of
GB hockey and hockey funding in England is very concerning.
A 60% cut in funding is a massive blow and will certainly have
affects on all levels of the game. Despite
the negatives Leisa has come to the decision that she is not finished with
International hockey just yet. She
said, “After speaking to Danny, I decided to look at the program
and see if I could commit myself and of course to see if I still had the
hunger to succeed. I feel that I still have the drive and commitment
to improve and become a better player.”
For the
first time in over 8 years Leisa will be one of 4 Ipswich players in the
training squad, joining Goalkeeper Beccy Duggan, Midfielder Jo Ellis and
Striker Cath Gilliat-Smith. Leisa
said “There is a lot of talent within the squad and I really think we
have the ability to win tournaments. So I've decided to give it a
go, it's basically taking each week and month as it comes. If I'm selected
then that's great!”
Enjoying her club hockey with an Ipswich team, that
were runners up in the National Indoor final and sit in second place in
the Outdoor league, has probably helped King rediscover her appetite for
the game but she is fully aware that a place in the training squad is only
a small step on what could be another long and hard journey.
Fuelled, by not only her personal disappointment at
not reaching the Olympics but by the sense that the team did not live up
to National expectation Leisa feels it is time to put things right, saying
“ We need to win medals and put England right back there as one of the
top hockey nations, if I can help England achieve this then it's worth the
commitment and sacrifice.”
Due to her late inclusion in the squad Leisa is not
included in the team that fly’s out to Valencia in 2 weeks time, but
will be aiming to be included in
the Champions Challenge in Virginia Beach, in the United States, in July
before hopefully competing in the European Nations Cup in Dublin in
August. |
