The 2021 Junior Hockey Women’s World Cup, which took place in Potchefstroom, South Africa in April 2022 was a wildly different event to any of the eight editions that had preceded it.
For a start, it took place four months later than scheduled although, until just a few days before the first match was due to be played, it was still expected to go ahead in December 2021. For the Canadian National Team, this caused all sorts of financial, logistical and emotional problems as they had already turned up on South African soil and then had the tricky problem of how to get home.
Then there was the multiple changes in participating nations. Covid travel restrictions had eliminated Australia and New Zealand many months before; Spain and Belgium fell by the wayside for similar reasons. Russia was removed from the competition because of heightened tensions surrounding the war with Ukraine. Ukraine itself had to withdraw after many of the U21 team were dramatically rescued and re-homed by Poland, Netherlands, Italy and Germany. Despite escaping the war zone, the athletes and coaching staff were understandably in no place to take part in an international competition.
Several teams had significantly different athletes representing them than had been on the original December rosters. For Argentina, for example, the team and coaching staff that lined up in Potchefstroom was completely different to the one that had finished fifth in the Pan Am Cup after it emerged that Covid had ravaged the team that should have defended its title in Santiago.
It was against this backdrop that athletes and coaches arrived in Potchefstroom in April and it is the reason that in their post-match interviews, the common thread with every coach was how steep the learning curve had been for their athletes – and often for themselves as well – and what a deep well of resilience such an experience offered.
As Canada’s Head Coach Jenn Beagan said, after her team lost to PAHF rivals Uruguay: ‘’We knew that coming here would be a challenge. We have a young team with many girls who’ve never played internationally before. So we’re really proud of the efforts they put in. This was a huge learning opportunity. We take this home.”
To gain a deeper insight into the learning and development opportunities offered by an event such as the Junior World Cup, we caught up with USA Field Hockey U21 Head Coach Tracey Paul, just days after she returned from Potchefstroom.
USA finished the tournament in eighth position, which equalled their 2016 and 2013 performances. They lost the final match to South Africa, a thrilling 3-2 encounter that could have gone either way. Speaking after the match, Paul said: ‘‘Losing is always disappointing but finishing in the top eight is an achievement. I have seen a lot of growth among our players and we have a lot of rising stars. It was a fantastic experience.”
For many athletes at the Junior World Cup this would have been a fortnight of many ‘firsts’. A first time away from home, a first time representing their country, a first time on a different continent. Unlike coaches of senior teams who generally inherit experienced athletes, there is an additional responsibility on the coaching staff to help their athletes negotiate, not just the demands of competition, but demands of a new way of living.
“I am fortunate that my athletes already travel across time zones in the USA because it is such a big country,” says Paul, “But they are not used to travelling the huge distances such as going to South Africa.”
“They are used to hydration and getting to sleep on a plane but we offered additional help with sleep hygiene and stress management,”
Meditation plays a big part in Paul’s program. Not only does she insist on the players spending time each day meditating, but it is an important part of her self management and the way she de-stresses.
Another issue that is less likely to crop up for the coaches of senior teams is the requirement for the young athletes to combine academic studies with competition time.
“Our young women are still in college, so they were in class from 6pm to 1pm [South Africa time],’ says Paul. “The internet speed was low, so there was a lot of additional stress on them. A lecture via Zoom was often taking twice the time because of poor internet. There were also occasions when the South African government turned off the electricity across the country and that caused some extra anxiety.”
“I was very cognisant that at this tournament they had a lot of academic stresses, so we ensured there were times when they could really relax too. We provided card games and they introduced us to the addictive game of Mind. You could hear the laughter and that was hugely important for their mental health.”
The coaches also encouraged interaction with other teams. For USA this meant a game of rounders against Ireland – which USA won – as well as some impromptu dance-off competitions. Paul says the feedback from the players was nothing but positive.
“In Chile, at the Pan Ams, because of the pandemic, we couldn’t mix with any other teams. It was like being in a prison, so the chance to get out and socialise with other teams was unbelievably important this time around.”
International tournaments also offer opportunities to experience other cultures. Most of the teams in Potchefstroom enjoyed a South Africa ‘braai’ and the ball boys would happily demonstrate their moves in some traditional dance displays.
One potentially tricky area to navigate is how athletes room together. For many athletes, a junior international competition will be the first time they have had to share with someone for a prolonged period of time. Ensuring that athletes are comfortable in their own space is an important facet of team management.
“We based our rooming arrangements mainly on class schedules. So if someone was going to have an online class really late at night, we put them with someone in a similar situation. We also roomed in threes for the most part and that works well.”
Nutrition can sometimes prove difficult for teams when they travel to unfamiliar places. Teams often bring their own food or liaise carefully with the hotels and venues to make sure that the food provided meets the nutritional needs of the athletes.
In South Africa, Paul says the coaching staff got together with the catering providers to choose what the athletes would be eating.
“It was amazing, the hotel was so accommodating” she says. “The hotel provided a nut-free table and gluten-free food for those who needed it but the girls were happy to try just about everything. They did draw the line at liver but apart from that, they were really adventurous.”
It was when talking to the players in one-to-one meetings that Paul realised that many of her athletes were holding onto some emotional baggage as a result of the pandemic. At the Pan Am Cup in Chile, where Covid protocols had to be very strict because of a surge in infection, the players had been subject to very rigorous restrictions, leading to feelings of isolation, insecurity and fear.
“The girls who went to Chile had a form of PTSD. That sounds strong but they really had gone through some emotional difficulties and had struggled to come to terms with that. I had no idea of the depth with which that experience had affected them and the anxiety they were feeling on arrival in South Africa.”
Paul says she called on that experience in her dealings with the athletes, but, at the other end of the scale, she was also able to tap into the experiences of players such as Ashley Sessa and Hope Rose who had played in the USA senior side in FIH Pro League matches.
“You bring in everything and everyone’s experience into the collective to make everything stronger,” she says.
Looking back now, Paul says: “These athletes, who have been playing hockey in the past two years have done something unique. They have been wearing masks on the sideline, I’ve coached them wearing a mask. they have lived with all the different protocols for Covid, the nasal swabs and other things. I hope they look back in years to come and have some sense of historical perspective because, hopefully, no other generation will go through what they have had to go through.”
“From a tournament perspective, our group learnt about the pace of tournament play and how to deal with being in a longer tournament. That will help with World Cup and Olympic experiences in the future.”
“This young group have learnt to be in a team together in challenging circumstances. So they have learnt resilience. And they have learnt that they can create fun within the group.”
While the learning possibilities for the players are well documented, Paul says each tournament also provides great learning experiences for the coaches too. “It was my first Junior World Cup as a Head Coach so I learnt so many things. How to navigate through a tournament; how to take care of myself during a tournament; how to help your team deal with the stresses; how to extract things from each match and apply them further down the road.”
And as we wrapped up the interview, Paul admitted with a smile: “I also have to add that interviews made me extremely nervous. I had never done those before. However by the last day I was accustomed to them and felt way more relaxed, which has made today’s interview a little easier.”
