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It’s been
two years since Lindsey Wright (nee Carlisle)
retired from international hockey, but not after twice achieving her childhood
dream of representing her country at the Olympic Games. Even after retirement,
Lindsey remains involved in hockey, coaching youngsters to become better
players. But, as you read this Lindsey is preparing to welcome her first baby,
due any day now.

Lindsey, South
Africa’s most capped women’s hockey player, was born Joburg, moved to Zimbabwe
when she was two, and then returned to South Africa during the 1994 elections,
determined to achieve her childhood dream of going to the Olympics.

Lindsey
was aware it would be hard work, but was prepared to go the distance. Before
she knew it, she was playing IPT hockey with some of South Africa’s best players. After
that, things happened quickly, and in 1995 she played her first game for South Africa. She
went on to play until 2006, during which time she played in two Olympic Games,
two World Cups, three Commonwealth Games, two Champion Challenges and a
Champions Trophy.

Lindsey
is currently head coach of Hockey Action
in Randburg and also works for Gray’s South Africa. Her greatest ambition
is to make a positive impact on other people’s lives through her sporting
experiences, but at the same time learn from others, and grow herself.

So many
highlights and so deserved, Lindsey has every reason to feel proud of her
achievements as a player, and we wish she continues to stay involved with
hockey, because our young players need her.

Introducing
gsport’s August 2008 Woman; hockey great,
Lindsey Wright!

Lindsey, what have you been up to since
retiring from hockey in 2006?

I thought
life without hockey would be rather dramatic for me but it is amazing how we
are blessed with so many more opportunities. Since I have retired I have got
married to Peter Wright (SA
international Umpire) and been married for just over a year. We are also
expecting our 1^st child so as I write this I am very much larger
than what I was after my last hockey game!!! Our little girl is expected early
August.

What initially drew you to hockey,
and what do you enjoy most about the game?

My parents
drew me to hockey as they both played and we would have to occupy ourselves on
the side of the field while they played their games. I had 2 brothers to play
hockey against so I was constantly in a 2 on 1 situation.

What I
loved about the game is the competitiveness of the game and how it evolves
which pushes me to extend my boundaries to keep improving the way I played and
handled tough situations.

What made you leave Zimbabwe to pursue your hockey career in South Africa?

I was
born in Jo’burg and my parents (originally Zimbabwean) returned to Zimbabwe
when I was about 2 years old. I never wanted to leave Zimbabwe as I loved
growing up in this “once” beautiful country, however, I anticipated that SA
would be allowed to come back into sporting action after 1994 and I was also
very aware that Africa was only allowed to send 1 African Nation to the Olympic
Games.

I also
wanted to see how good a hockey player I really was as I didn’t want to be one
of these “what if” people. I needed to prove that I had talent and what better
place than to throw myself into the deep end of talented hockey players that SA
were producing at this time. Having been born in South Africa that gave me
naturalization and I obviously had to make sure that all my hockey paths were
clear to activate my clearance to play for SA.

When did you make your debut for South Africa?

I was
selected for SA in 1995, my 1^st international match vs. China in Australia at a 4 Nations Cup. I
arrived in Jo’burg during the 1994 elections destined to just find a job and
play for a good hockey club that would possibly give me a break through into
their provincial tournament, expecting much more than this would be unfair to
my way of plotting my ambitions to achieve my dream that I set when I was 11 years
old.

I played
for Southern Gauteng A at IPT in 1994 which I
thought was an amazing achievement as I was playing with some truly great
hockey players. We won the title that year and I was selected into the SA squad
that year. There were a few complications in getting my clearance between Zimbabwe and SA so it was only in 1995 that I
played my 1^st international game for South Africa – one of many proud
moments for me.

You are SA’s most capped player,
having played 209 international games, what have been your biggest highlights?

Wow! I
have had so many. Every time I played for SA I found it a highlight but
obviously some results determined the scale of excitement or disappointment. I
hated losing so I can’t say that those were my best highlights! When we beat
countries ranked above us like Australia,
Holland, Germany, I always thought those
were brilliant results for our team competing against countries that were semi
professional. I think my biggest highlight was stepping onto the Olympic field
to play Germany
in our opening match.

I was so
excited because I was about to realistically endure the dream I had set at the
Harare International airport when I was 11 years old. Other highlights are
obviously getting to play in another Olympic Games, 2 World Cups, 3 Commonwealth
Games, 2 Champion Challenges and a Champions Trophy. An honorable highlight is
captaining the SA team for many international matches.

Tell us about more those two Olympic
experiences, the highlights and challenges.

As I
mentioned, it truly was an unbelievably exhilarating feeling to achieve this
life long goal I had set and for not one day I let up on this dream. I was
always a determined person and I knew what I wanted and what I needed to do to
achieve it almost to the point that I would put my body at injury risk. It all
worked out with some very close calls on threatening stress fractures that
could have terminated it all but rehab was just as much a part of my willpower
to achieve my dream.

Both
Olympics were spectacular yet very different. Sydney was the 1^st Olympic Games
that any SA ladies team had been to so we were probably very naïve and the
spectacle was probably too much for us to be able to compete and take it all in
at the same time. We finished a disappointing 12^th and most of the
team was truly devastated. Athens was an event I
wanted to personally do really well in as a team and to be able to approach
this huge event with a little more experience that what we had in Sydney.

While I
can say we did approach it completely differently we still played for a
disappointing bottom position. I felt we competed well all the time at both
Olympics but we just didn’t have enough to make the breaks when we needed to. I
think the build up to the both sets of Games I found particularly challenging
as I experienced some difficult issues within the team dynamics, however, I
didn’t allow this to distract me from what I personally needed to achieve and I
was still prepared to set my high standards and challenge them.

What was it like to lead Team South Africa at
the Commonwealth Games in 2006?

This was
the 2^nd time I have had the privilege of leading Team South Africa
at the Commonwealth Games (2002 & 2006) and I felt a lot more prepared in
2006 having experienced 2002. It is a job that I didn’t take lightly but I have
to be honest and say it was extremely challenging trying to lead a hockey team
and then an even bigger team at such a huge event.

While I
felt the SA Commonwealth team did very well my biggest disappointment was that
I didn’t lead my hockey team to achieving what could have been their best
result at a Commonwealth Games…this is something I regret to this day.

How does it feel to be regarded as
one of SA’s greatest ever women’s hockey players?

I didn’t
know that I was? If this is what people think I am humbly honored? I have to
say it brings tears to my eyes.

How do you expect the SPAR National
hockey team to fare at the Olympics?

Well this
is their 3^rd Olympic Games and they should have some very good
experience in their team to anticipate the “over whelming” prestige of this
event. They have also had some excellent preparation and the players have
gained some valuable game time and added to their international cap value. I
would love them do well but realistically they are in a really tough pool which
I would like to think that will be better for them.

If they
come in the top 8 I think this team can be really proud of themselves but they
know it’s going to have to take maybe 2 major upsets to teams that are all
ranked above them. It is always possible to do this and if there is any team
that these other top rank teams fear it is South Africa because we can be so
unpredictable. I think for the 1^st time our Coach has had Olympic
experience as well (Athens) so she should also feel a lot more comfortable
preparing for this massive event.

What can be done to further improve
the state of hockey in South
Africa?

I really
do hope our National teams do well at the Olympics as I feel that hockey is suffering
in our country and the young people are looking towards a successful National
hockey team to bring them hope for their hockey careers. I understand and
support that transformation is imperative to every sport in our country and
that academies should be set up in every Province to aid this process, however,
I do not feel that our National teams should be selected on the colour of your
skin but rather on the best players your sport has to offer to the country.

I believe
that the ladies team we are sending to Beijing
is the best team we have to offer and they will be playing for the pride of
their country and all the hockey players. Marsha Marescia is one of the best
players this country has ever produced and a very close and dear friend of
mine. I sincerely hope that she can lead this team to huge success because
there is no-one who is a better leader for this job and the profile of our
sport.

Tell us more about your involvement
in Hockey Action .

I am the
Head Coach of Hockey Action in Randburg, it was originally started by Ros
Howell and Karen Symons (both ex SA players). They handed it over to me in
about 1998 while they started another Hockey Action at St. Mary’s Waverly. I
have been at Randburg since then training young hockey enthusiasts.

Any type
of hockey player can come to these sessions as my aim is to create more enthusiastic
hockey players and to improve their individual standards each and every season.
If each child can achieve their goals each season then I am pleased and that
could be just making the A teams at school or going on to make a provincial or
national team.

Hockey
Action has been going for 10 years now which shows you how successful it has
been. The groups are kept fairly small depending on the kids’ busy timetables
at school. More importantly, the kids’ must love the game and want to come back
to enjoy another fun filled session that they can keep learning and improving
their game.

What is your advice to youngsters
keen on fulfilling their dream of playing for SA?

I think
every young kid would love the opportunity to play for their country, however,
what they have to understand that what separates them from the average sports
person is what they put in and at what intensity. Saying you want to play for
SA is the easy part, doing what it takes is the hardest and brings with it many
challenges.

I knew as
a young girl that I always wanted to be the best hockey player on the field so
that meant I had to be running harder than everyone else and having skills that
threatened the opposition all the time. I was determined to stand out amongst
the rest and make sure when I came off the field that I had given everything
but there was always room for improvement.

Who are some of the sports stars
you admire and why?

My
younger brother played cricket for Zimbabwe but he went through some
really tough times trying to always show that he was worthy of his position. He
never gave up fighting for his place and he is still the only Zimbabwean to
make a test 100 and one-day 100 vs. Australia. I admire his tenacity.

I also
admired Steffi Graff, she was a fantastic fighter on the tennis court and took
every opportunity to out play her opposition. She also always appeared to be
humble off the court.

Nelson
Mandela, no words can describe this magnificent man. I only wish having achieved
my sporting accolades for this country he freed; I could have met him
personally.

What are your favourite spectator
sports?

World Cup
and Olympic Hockey. Rugby and One Day cricket
if Stuart (my younger brother) was playing.

Who has had the biggest influence
on your hockey career?

My
family. My Mother and Father introduced me to the game and taught me how to
play with determination but to also take defeat and turn it into strength of
mind to be better next time. My older and younger brother both played hockey
and gave me various ideas and of course there was always the garden challenges.

gsport strives to celebrate
femininity. What role does it play in your life?

Femininity
means equality to me, by this I mean that females should be given the same
opportunities as men. I have always believed that I can do most things equally
if not better than men. Understandably men will probably always be physically
stronger than women but this is perhaps the only area of dominance. It has
always irritated me that because I was a talented hockey player men assume you
are gay! I find that completely narrow minded and disrespectful.

It
appears that the only way that some men seem to respect women athletes is if
they pose nude or half nude in magazines and then….oh by the way she plays
hockey for South Africa and has more international games than our past or
current Springbok rugby captain!!! Harsh I know, but I admire so many of our
male athletes without judging their personal lives I just wish it would be
reciprocal.

When did you become Lindsey Wright,
and how are you enjoying married life?

Peter and
I were married on the 22^nd June 2007. I love married life probably
because I have found the perfect partner. Peter was always a friend of mine and
I met him when I first came to South
Africa. We have always got on very well but
both of us never knew that it would result in marriage. He is a very kind,
considerate, loving and fun person and I thank God for keeping him for me to
find him at this time in my life.

Your husband is a hockey umpire;
does he lean on your experiences in hockey?

Yes he
is. We often have discussions about umpiring decisions in a game and I think we
make a good combination because I give him the player’s perspective and he
gives me the umpire’s perspective. Hopefully, together, we have bought each
other different perspectives on the game that we can both appreciate that will
aid his umpiring career to the level he wishes to achieve.

How do you balance your family life
and career?

We are
about to add to our family so I am sure I fill find it a lot more difficult to
balance my family life and career but I am looking forward to the challenge. I
work for Gray’s Hockey South Africa and really enjoy it so I would like to keep
progressing in my job but at the same time my little girl is going to play a
very important part in my life and I hope that I can be as good a mother as my
mother was to me.

What is your biggest inspiration?

Now that
my playing days are over, I would really like to build my career with Gray’s
hockey and make it into an even stronger brand than it already is. I would like
to become a successful business woman but the challenge to that will to become
a good mother to my child.

Coaching
hockey is not completely out of my inspirations and coaching a National team
would be seriously considered however this will all depend on the politics of
sport as I would like to coach a fairly selected National team with no
discrimination whatsoever then I would truly know that I am coaching the
flagship team of our country and not an invitation team!

Who are your role models?

My
Mother, Heather Carlisle.

What is your greatest ambition?

To make a
positive impact on other people’s lives through my sporting experiences but at
the same time learn from others and grow myself to become the person that God
expects me to be so that when I leave this world I would have made a
difference.