A View from the Inside- Steph Kershaw talks injuries, rehab and 2020

 “ I have never opted for the easy”

Un marchio australiano, Ritual, che sostiene una giocatrice australiana — ha perfettamente senso. Steph Kershaw, Hockeyroo, fa parte di #teamritual da quattro anni, viaggiando e gareggiando con Hockey Australia in tutto il mondo. Ma non è sempre stato tutto facile. Abbiamo incontrato Steph per scoprire com’è stato affrontare un anno personale difficile, il 2019, e il devastante impatto del COVID-19 nel 2020.

ACL Injury

Last year (2019) was a year I hoped would go very quickly. After completing a grueling pre-season over the 2018 Christmas holidays, I tore my second ACL on the Saturday of the first week of training. This left me utterly devastated and dejected, as I’d been through the same injury in 2016. I knew that 2019 was going to be a long, bleak grind physically and mentally to get myself back to 100%.

Riabilitazione

“When people think about rehab, they have a misconception that you get a bit of a break both physically and mentally.”

The first four months of the year I watched my teammates and friends train everyday and go away every second week for pro-league while I sat on the sidelines.  I was in the gym almost every day, trying to strengthen not only my knee but the rest of my body; my hamstrings, quads, upper body and core. I knew that it was all going to play a part in helping me come back as a better athlete and hockey player, but to be completely honest, it sucked. I just wanted to play hockey and play for the Hockeyroos. It hurt so badly.

When people think about rehab, they have this misconception that you get a bit of a break, both physically and mentally. I can confirm that it’s completely the opposite. You not only have to complete your individual rehab session, you also have to attend each group session to help the team in any way you can. There were days I would arrive for training for a 7:00am start and leave my gym session at 4:00pm with my body and mind absolutely exhausted.

I was told that I could go home for part of my rehab, but I knew that would be the easy alternative. I have never opted for the easy. I knew that I had to get through the hard, painful days to play again, and the thing that made me push through was knowing that not being able to play for Australia again would be far worse than injury and rehab. With that in mind, I worked my bum off for over twelve months to be back playing with the Hockeyroos in 2020.

Anche se le richieste fisiche erano impegnative, la parte più difficile per me è stata allenarmi ogni giorno sapendo di essere ancora lontano dal tornare a giocare a hockey. Durante la riabilitazione mi sono concentrato molto sull’aspetto mentale dell’essere un atleta d’élite. Ho dovuto superare la paura di farmi di nuovo male e creare invece una mentalità in cui mi fidassi del mio corpo e delle sue capacità. Questo lavoro è molto sottovalutato e non è visibile a nessuno tranne che a te stesso, ma credo che il lavoro mentale sia stato uno degli aspetti chiave che mi ha aiutato a raggiungere i miei obiettivi di riabilitazione e tornare al 100%.

After all of the boring, behind-the-scenes work, I was selected to play the first game of 2020 with the Hockeyroos in Sydney. I was ecstatic with the news, but I also felt a sense of relief and pride that I had achieved my year-long goal.

2020

 “Il mondo dell’hockey è stato completamente stravolto”

The first month of 2020 was great. The Hockeyroos were training well as a group, improving in some areas and continuing to develop in others. We were all hitting PBs on the physical side of things and our first couple of pro-league games showed signs that the team was on the right track.  

Personally, I was training well and beginning to hit my form again, and then something happened that no one was prepared for. 

Entra il coronavirus. Una situazione prima impensabile che ha fermato non solo l’hockey internazionale, ma anche quello di club, tutto l’hockey e la vita quotidiana — in tutto il mondo. Abbiamo assistito a conseguenze inimmaginabili, alla tragica perdita di vite umane e anche di mezzi di sostentamento.  

Anche lo sport è stato colpito. Nel giro di tre giorni il programma di Hockey Australia è stato sospeso, il Comitato Olimpico Australiano ha ritirato la squadra australiana dalle Olimpiadi 2020, e poi le stesse Olimpiadi sono state rinviate a data da destinarsi. Il mondo dell’hockey è stato completamente stravolto. 

People had expected 2020 to be a great year for our sport. To have hockey come to a complete stop was jarring. Everyone was speculating that the Olympics might be cancelled altogether, which would have been the worst outcome for athletes. We had been preparing for the last four years for this one event. The idea that our preparation might come to nothing was heartbreaking. 

Luckily, only a couple of days later the new dates for the Tokyo Olympics were released and everyone breathed a sigh of relief—the dream was still alive. Now the challenge is two-fold: mentally bracing for an extra twelve months and preparing to reach our peak in a world that has changed dramatically. 

Allenamento in isolamento

Although the goal of Olympic success is still the same, training these days looks a little different and a little lonelier. We (the Hockeyroos) have gone from training together on the pitch to running solo, and our strength sessions have gone from the lucky situation of having a gym with endless equipment to finding whatever weights we can to use in our garages. 

As an Australian, I’m very lucky that there is so much open space, beautiful parks, beaches and trails that I can use for my running sessions. I’m still able to have a quick dip in the ocean and grab a coffee to take-away without breaking social distancing regulations. But more often than not, Netflix and university at home is where I have been spending most of my time. These are strange and difficult times for everyone but knowing that staying at home is saving lives makes it a little easier to accept and enjoy my newfound slow-paced living. It’s making me even more excited and determined for 2021 and what’s to come from a hockey perspective. 

So, here’s to getting through this pandemic together and a big year to come in 2021!

Steph Kershaw, 2020