Toni Cronk, Teneal Attard and Shelly Liddelow were recently given place on the Australian National Hockey Squad. The Hockeyroos head to New Zealand this month to compete with a series in Melbourne and Adelaide against Japan and another in Beijing against China later in the year. The trio talked to OUTinPerth about their experiences as part of Australia’s Hockeyroos.
TENEAL
Position: Defender
Club: Willetton
Started playing: When I was about 10 at school. One of my teachers got me into it. I started playing club, and from there, I made rep teams. I made my debut in 2004 after the Olympics
Hockey Highlight: Probably the World Cup semi-fi nals against Spain. It went to extra time. Right at the end of the game, 1 all, they had a penalty corner and the lights went out. We had to wait 15 minutes for the lights to go back on. We went back and played extra time and scored in the fi rst two minutes.
Favourite Athlete: Lauren Jackson because she was best in her sport at one point.
Obstacles Overcome: 2005 was pretty disappointing for me because 2 months before Junior World Cup I did my ACL, which meant I missed the Commonwealth Games as well. I came back and went to the World Cup. It took a lot of hard work… After an injury, you appreciate how much you want to play.
Greatest Strength: I enjoy the hard work.
On Being a Hockeyroo: The honour of wearing the green and gold… Everytime you put your uniform on and stand and sing the national anthem before the game, it gives me goosebumps.
TONI
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: South Perth
Started Playing: When I was 10 or 11. A teacher got me started on it and managed to turn everyone else off it but me. I made my fi rst state team at 13, played Junior World Cup in 2001, made the national squad in 2002 and the Olympics in 2004.
Hockey Highlight: Commonwealth games in Melbourne. Winning gold at that was phenomenal. Everyone that played was running around the fi eld. Favourite Athlete: Anyone that had to overcome some kind of adversity to get to the peak of their sport.
Obstacles Overcome: I dislocated my shoulder and I had a full shoulder reconstruction. Ididthatlastyearabout a month after the Comm Games. That meant I missed the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. There was a lot of rehab, somewhat painful. When I did the nerves, the doc said they weren’t going to know for 3 months. At that time I was exploring a bit of spirituality, for lack of a better word, so I meditated on my shoulder a bit. I’m not sure if it helped or not, but I’m playing again. Just before I did my shoulder I was ready to quit, but now I’m ready to keep playing until 2012.
Greatest Strength: Just having that grip and sheer determination… and a little bit of belief that I can be one of the best in my sport.
On Being a Hockeyroo: I take a lot of pride in it. I’ve put my gear on and before I’ve walked out, looked in the mirror and just gone ‘wow’.
SHELLY
Position: Forward
Club: UWA Started Playing: In about year 3. We always used to play in the backyard. My mum played and my brothers, so I had to play too. Then I moved up and played on the Junior National Team. I only made the national team about a week ago. I made my debut at the Champions Trophy in January.
Hockey Highlight: Junior World Cup in 2005 and playing Champions Trophy in January in Argentina. That was my fi rst experience with the big girls. [laughs]
Favourite Athlete: Roger Federer. On the tennis court when he is playing, he is just so focused. He has won everything so many times, and as soon as he wins, he is so emotional and just lets it all out. He still loves winning.
Obstacles Overcome: I had my compartments [shin splints] released in 2003. You get these great big scars [shows calfs] and they take all the fl uid out. I came back for 6 months and then had a stress fracture in my hip and had to have another 6 months off. So leading up to Junior World Cup it was really hard because I came back for a little while, then I had a stress fracture.
Greatest Strength: Mindset. Just wanting to do it. You get so many knock backs throughout your career, like injuries and not making teams, just wanting to keep doing it.
On Being a Hockeyroo: They [gestures towards Toni and Teneal] are my idols.
