Wilson Earns Hockeyroos Squad Selection
WA hockey athlete, Georgia Wilson was yesterday named as a member of the 2017 Hockeyroos squad, following a comeback from injury which prevented her from competing in the 2016 Junior World Cup.
Wilson was one of four new athletes introduced to the squad including Victorians, Kristina Bates and Jacqui Day and Queenslander, Ashlea Fey.
Speaking of her selection Wilson said “I am extremely excited to finally be given the opportunity to train permanently with the National program for 2017.”
“It’s one step closer towards playing for the Hockeyroos which has been my long term aspiration as a child and the feeling is still very surreal.”
Selections were made following a week-long super camp at the AIS in Canberra, where 42 athletes were in attendance.
Hockeyroos Head Coach, Paul Gaudoin said “the camp was an excellent opportunity for us to look at both our national quad and the development squad as we looked to select an additional four new players to the senior squad for 2017.”
“In the end, Jacqui, Ashlea, Kristina and Georgia proved that they had both the ability and the determination to add depth to the current Hockeyroos roster.”
He stated that Wilson’s selection was based around her consistent performances in the lead up to the Junior World Cup.
The Mahogany Creek resident had been selected to attend the Junior World Cup in South America late last year however was ruled out late in the piece due to suffering a hamstring injury.
She said that “after the initial heartbreak of my injury, I knew that my rehab and recovery was going to be vital in ensuring my future ability to play at a high level.”
“I wanted to try and minimize the risk of the same injury occurring again so I invested a lot of time and effort knowing that I had one opportunity to get my hamstring repaired.”
“Once I found out about the camp going ahead, which was confirmed at the last minute, I was nervous but also excited. I hadn’t had an off season period so I had a great amount of confidence, largely derived from knowing that my injury rehab had provided me with a very high quality of skill and physical preparation leading into the camp.”
Wilson’s confidence in her abilities was clearly shared by Hockeyroos coaching staff with a strong camp performance earning her selection in the Australian squad.
When asked about her endeavors for this year she said “I hope that I’m given the opportunity to debut this year, there are a few smaller series taking place at the end of 2017 but for the moment I need to heavily work on my structural knowledge of the game before I am able to compete at an international level.”
Georgia Wilson has now returned to Perth where she will adopt the new training schedule associated with being a professional hockey athlete.
Annika Lee-Jones
