Maddie Secco got to teach the children of some of her former coaches on the University of Victoria field-hockey pitch on Saturday. It was an afternoon of re-connection for the five Island players on the Canadian women’s field-hockey team, preparing for the World Cup and Commonwealth Games this summer, as they hosted a youth camp.
“It’s so wonderful to come full circle like that,” said national team veteran Secco of Victoria.
“This community was so supportive of me in my career. It is so exciting and rewarding to offer mentorship to the next generation, who are now in the same position I was in several years ago,” said the Oak Bay Secondary graduate, who played NCAA Div. 1 in the Pac 12 for Stanford University.
On the Canadian national team are Secco, Kathleen Leahy, Anna Mollenhauer, Lexi DeArmond, all from Victoria, and Sara Goodman of Duncan.
All ages, genders and skill levels are welcome to the youth camps this weekend, which continue today from 2:50 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. at UVic. Participants must have their own sticks and gear, with the camp fee by donation with $20 recommended at the pitch or online at fieldhockey.ca/wnt-back-the-pack/.
The national team has not qualified for the Olympics since 1992 at Barcelona and has received no funding from Own the Podium since 2015. It relies on donations, sponsorships and athlete fees to continue.
The national squad made a breakthrough this year by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1994.
“We have been through so much as a team because of the funding issues, but through the adversity, we have struck together,” said Secco, 28.
“It was rewarding to finally qualify for the World Cup.”
The goal is to end another drought and qualify for the Olympic Games in 2024 at Paris. sa国际传媒 is ranked No. 13 in the world, and won bronze in the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games, and appears on the rise.
The 2022 World Cup is July 1-17 in Spain and the Netherlands. The 2022 Commonwealth Games are July 28 to Aug. 8, in Birmingham, England.
The World Cup is the big event within the sport this summer, after which, several of the national teams will hop across the Channel to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
“Many of the top nations in our sport are from the Commonwealth, so it’s a very tough competition,” said Secco.
“And it’s always inspiring for me at a multi-sport Games to meet and learn from athletes from so many sports and to experience that environment [which is different from a single-sport world championship],” said Secco.
