Which player was popular as the Wizard of field hockey?

What are good ways to become an international player in field hockey?

• I live in France and I will start hockey field in Septemeber. My objective is to become a player in national team, and play at the . How many hours per day do I have to train me? Is is possible by being a vegetarian? Some advices?

• Answer:

  Your likelihood of playing internationally, yet alone at the Olympics is dependant mainly on your age. Most of the players in the current Australian team were on the verge of, or were, playing internationally when they were 18-19. Australia has managed to send an unbelievably strong and experienced team to the Olympics because of this. This may be different in other countries though.   Keep in mind that only the top ~12 nations play in the Olympics. If that is your goal, you may have to move countries for a guarantee of that honour. I'm not sure where France stands at the moment, but both Spain and the Netherlands are strong sides.   For an example of how hard training schedules are, I had to look no further than a hockey camp that I attended that was run by current Australian Olympian Mark Knowles and featured an appearance by Kookaburras teammate Eddie Ockenden, who is the former World Young Player of the Year. They told us that they only have a few weeks off each year, one of which they spent running the camp that I was at. The other weeks they are either competing or training.   Their training sounds extreme. Ric Charlesworth is infamous for his worth ethic. He claimed in today's papers that he he is inspired by Shakespeare's words. Anyway, the team train 6 days a week for between 2 and 6 hours. At least 2 to 3 of those hours involve almost constant running.   Vegetarians are at a slight disadvantage because they must eat extra protein and iron in order to saty fit. Taking iron supplements and eating beans and drinking protein shakes after exercise should make up for this, but you may still find yourself at a disadvantage.   My advice would be to give it all you've got. Once you have the main techniques (pushing, hitting, tomahawks, etc.) worked out, your success will only be judged by your determination and effort. I am having a great season this year because I have tried to run further and further each game. It's paying off, and it should do for you too.