There’s no masking the fact that that I had to get out of my comfort zone during the summer.
I felt that I had lost a bit the meaning of what I was doing and why I was doing it. I had to find different challenges to be able to come back to hockey and realise how important the sport is to me and how it makes me feel when I step out on the pitch.
Which bring me to the topic I have been trying to open up about for days.
What if we fail or fall? Can we fail as an umpire? Is it just lessons learned and you move on? Or is it a feeling that we get for a short while and it goes away?
What I have learned in the last few years in my umpiring career is that we all have ups and downs along the way and there is no one ‘perfect’ solution to deal with the potholes that stand in the way.
I can’t say for others but I can tell you my summer story.
I was not appointed for the Women’s World Cup in July, and so I had to find a way to keep training and keep my head in the game.
I was at the gym that day, talking to my personal trainer and he sent me a link. It was about a trail, 26km of running and 1880 metres of positive elevation.
First I was thought he was joking, for I have never run such a long distance before and never in the mountains.
To cut a long story short, in September I did the 26km of the Serre Chevalier Trail in 5hr 48m; it was painful and it was the most amazing experience ever for me. Running and walking in such a beautiful place in the mountain, alone. I did it, just for me and it was perfect.
I do believe that as an umpire you can fall. It hurts but you learn and you keep going because at the end it is always worth it!
I returned last month home from my first Euro Hockey League KO16, it was an amazing experience and I will let you know all about it in my next article.
