One of the most talented hockey players in Australian history, Rachael Lynch, was always destined to be a star. As a young player, the hockey star committed to playing for both a club and a school team. As a junior, she rose up the ranks playing for Victoria, before garnering interest from selectors while playing for senior teams. Rachael got her big break in Australia after she was picked for a tournament due to another player’s injury. Now, she is one of the most recognised faces in Australian sport. NSR had the lucky opportunity to chat to the national sport star, where she shared her pearls of wisdom for other young athletes hoping to make it to the professional stakes.
1. The biggest thing would be to actually really enjoy what you’re doing.
Doing it because you really want to be doing it, not because you just want to be successful or certainly not famous, because we’re not famous (laughs). Choose another sport if that’s your motivation! You’ve got to love being really busy, and really tired, and really sore and occasionally getting yelled at! Like I said, sometimes you have to let people down, because you have to be a little bit selfish in order to commit to the requirements that elite level.
2. Be in tip top shape.
You’ve got to be quite athletic in general, work on every part of your game. There’s plenty of kids that just sit in their bedroom and play with their hockey sticks. You’ve also got to be fit, and buff and strong, and mentally strong.
3. I think you have to be very disciplined as a person.
One thing I learnt, coming through school and university is you have to develop your time management skills in order to play at the top level. Usually you make it when you’re reasonably young and you still have other stuff going on (at school, university or work) and you can’t put all your eggs in the hockey basket! I think you have to learn to plan your day and be really organised as a person. Because if you’re not, things start to slip!
4. Learn from others.
When I was a little kid, a coach told me to “be a sponge”. Take everything on board that people tell you. You’ll have lots of different coaches and teammates. Everyone wants to give their opinion and their advice, so always take it on board, but squeeze out the bits that you don’t need or that aren’t relevant to you. I have always remembered that, because I suppose you develop into an athlete by taking on board various different things. It’s lots of different views, and you’ve gotta find what works for you and not just what you’re told all the time.