Kamo Black Sticks factory turns out a bright new star Katie Doar
By Sabbie Heesh
À seulement 19 ans, Katie Doar a attiré l’attention du monde du hockey grâce à sa technique soyeuse, et se dirige vers ses premiers Jeux Olympiques à Tokyo aux côtés de son idole d’enfance, Stacey Michelsen.
The latest Olympian to come out of Kamo’s Black Sticks factory, Katie Doar is already a bit of a legend.
Pour commencer, ce jeune de 19 ans fait partie d’un héritage sportif incroyable : il est le 15e Black Stick à être diplômé de la petite école de Kamo Intermediate, juste au nord de Whangarei.
It stretches back to Neil McLeod, who was part of the 1976 New Zealand men’s team who won Olympic gold in Montreal, and includes 12 women who’ve played for the Black Sticks, including Doar’s elder sister, Madi and two others bound for the Tokyo Olympics - captain Stacey Michelsen and veteran Ella Gunson.
Mais Doar n’est pas une joueuse comme les autres. On la compare déjà à son idole d’origine Michelsen – pour sa touche de balle magique, son contrôle et sa technique qui ne reflètent pas son jeune âge.
Michelsen, the most capped Black Stick of all time who’s heading to her third Olympics, is blown away by the talented teenager, who she first guided when Doar was around nine years old.
But Doar holds a record that Michelsen and others can never better.
During her two years at Kamo Intermediate, Katie Doar became the most striped student in the school's history.
How do you earn your stripes? Through sports, academic and cultural achievements and services to the school.
Doar was so determined to beat sister Madi’s school record of 89 stripes she threw herself at everything the school had to offer. She collected 104 of them.
“I had them all down my sleeves and across the front of my shirt for things like cross country, debating and doing a fun run,” Doar says. “I was so proud of Madi, but I was always going to beat her.”
(They’ve since changed the rules for gathering stripes at Kamo, so the record looks safe with the younger Doar).
The sisters were later boarders at St Cuthbert’s College in Auckland (following Michelson there) and now share a house in the city with their two dogs, Kevin and Bill, and play club hockey together for Southern.
Madi was the first to make the Black Sticks, debuting for New Zealand in 2017 at the age of 17. The following year she won gold at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. She’s now working and studying fulltime.
Then Katie followed in 2019, first wearing the silver fern when she, too, was 17. And now she’s bound for her first Olympics.
“I wasn’t with Madi when I got the email to say I was in the team, but when I got home there were flowers and stuff from her,” Katie Doar says. “She knows what it’s like to go to big events, so she’s pretty chuffed for me.
“I still didn’t think my first big event would be these Olympics, right up until I got the email. I was pretty chill about it all so it came as a shock.”
Les ondes de choc ont été ressenties jusqu’à Kamo, où la mère des Doar, Helen, travaillait dans son cabinet de kinésithérapie.
« Quand elle a entendu la nouvelle, elle a dit à son patient : 'Désolée, je dois appeler ma fille' et elle s’est mise à pleurer, » raconte Doar. « Je riais : 'Oh là là, tu es bizarre maman'. Mais mes parents étaient si heureux, car ils savaient combien ma sœur et moi avions investi dans ce sport. »
Another mum elated by the news would have been Michelsen’s mother, Barbara. She’s a common denominator in the stories of Michelsen, Gunson and the Doar sisters – as their hockey coach at Kamo Intermediate.
“I was so fortunate to have Barb Michelson as my coach; it was insane how much I learned. It was probably the first real spark where I realised I loved hockey,” says Doar, who followed her sister into the game after being frustrated by her football games being cancelled by rain.
“I’ll never forget how much fun hockey was back then. I said to Mum the other day, I actually miss being that young.”
Les sœurs Doar ont aussi eu la chance d’être invitées à s’entraîner avec Stacey Michelsen à chacun de ses retours à Whangarei. Michelsen, élue Joueuse mondiale junior de l’année en 2011, voulait aider les jeunes sœurs talentueuses à développer leurs compétences.
And that continues today – Michelsen, with 291 international caps to her name, still helping the 19-cap Doar.
“It’s still so nice to train alongside her and keep learning from her; she’s so helpful,” Doar says. “I’ve always loved Stacey, loved watching her play, and I still do.
Michelsen says it’s been incredible to follow Doar’s rise in the game.
“When I first watched Katie as a youngster, I could tell she was a special kind of player. She had a skillset that stood out amongst her peers,” Michelsen says. “And her trajectory has been a very steep curve – she’s developed so quickly. But that certainly hasn’t been a surprise to me. She’s a very special kind of player.”
Et Michelsen peut-elle se reconnaître en Doar ?
“Obviously it’s difficult, because I want to flatter Katie, but I don’t want to talk about myself!” Michelsen laughs.
“But I think we’re similar in terms of our ability on the ball. She has an incredible ability with the skills she has – particularly for someone of her age – and her control is so great. It’s always stood out through the levels she’s played at, but now it stands out internationally, too.”
Michelsen gives credit to the people in Northland hockey, like her mum, who’ve devoted so much time to helping develop a steady stream of Olympians.
“We’re really privileged to come from a region that has that community focus and my mum is certainly one of those people who has given back, coaching for years and years,” she says. Her mum still works and coaches at Kamo Intermediate. “All the coaches up there are so willing to give extra time, which makes so much difference when you’re developing at that key age group of intermediate age kids.”
Doar est en deuxième année d’études à temps partiel en sciences du sport et de l’exercice à l’Université Massey. Elle passe son dernier examen du semestre aujourd’hui et s’envole vendredi avec les Black Sticks pour Perth, où elles joueront enfin les deux matchs de Pro League contre les Hockeyroos, reportés en mars dernier à cause de la pandémie de Covid.
“The study is great to have something else to focus on. It gives some balance and keeps me busy,” Doar says.
Elle envisage de devenir kiné : « Mais j’essaie de ne pas le dire à maman, sinon elle s’emballe tout de suite. »
On the field, Doar revels in playing club hockey - especially alongside her sister. And she'd love to mirror the international longevity of Michelsen. It’s now up to her to stamp her mark on the Black Sticks - she just has to determine where she’ll do it.
“I often get asked ‘what position are you?’ and I have no idea,” she laughs. “I started off as a striker, and then I play midfield for club, but before that I played defender. I can play wherever, just chuck me in.
“I like midfield, but there’s a lot more running, which is hard. I’m a battler.”
Doar se prépare à vivre une première expérience olympique inhabituelle. En suivant les protocoles du Playbook des Jeux de Tokyo, elle sait qu’elle ne pourra plus glisser son protège-dents dans sa chaussette ni attraper sa gourde (son responsable doit la lui tendre). Et elle devra porter un masque en permanence sauf pour manger, dormir, s’entraîner ou jouer.
Elle est déçue que sa famille, qui l’a tant soutenue durant sa carrière de hockey, ne puisse pas être présente. Mais elle est prête à vivre l’aventure de sa vie.
Michelsen’s advice to Doar?
“Just to make sure she knows to treasure it and enjoy it. It’s an event like no other,” she says.
« On a vraiment de l’empathie pour ces jeunes filles qui vont vivre ces Jeux dans un contexte si particulier. Mais je leur ai dit – et je le pense vraiment – que leurs premiers Jeux sont tellement spéciaux que tous ces protocoles auxquels on va devoir se plier ne gâcheront pas l’expérience, car c’est un moment unique. »
« J’espère que Katie profitera de l’instant présent et en tirera le maximum. Et je pense qu’elle va très bien s’en sortir. »
* For the record, beyond their hockey internationals, Kamo Intermediate has also produced Football Ferns Hannah Wilkinson and Katie Rood, Black Fern Leanne Atkins, international triathlete Simone Ackermann, NZ beach volleyball player Suzy McAsey, All Black Ian Jones and Black Cap Bryan Young.
