Women's Olympic Hockey Team Clare Balding Meets


Women's Olympic Hockey Team

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Welcome to the beautiful Bisham Abbey. Wandering round the grounds,

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you bump into top-class tennis players, footballers, netballers, Paralympians.

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But it's also the base of GB hockey,

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and that's why I'm here.

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Because, as we build up to Rio 2016, in this series

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we're going to be checking in on some of our best medal hopefuls.

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And I've come here to meet members of the squad

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who took the bronze medal at London 2012.

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Team GB won their first women's Olympic hockey medal in 20 years

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at London 2012,

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when they claimed bronze by beating New Zealand.

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Then, in 2015, the England players,

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who make up the spine of the British team,

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claimed their first European hockey title in 24 years

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by beating world and Olympic champions Holland

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in a dramatic penalty shootout,

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sparking hopes of repeating their medal success in Rio.

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I want to find out about the team's self-belief.

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We believe that we are one of the top teams in the world,

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we believe that we can beat anybody on our day.

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How Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh overcame a broken jaw...

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I still remember Kate turning up in the dining hall

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and she had these two bowls of this brown mixture.

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And she was so excited, and she had blended a roast dinner.

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Honestly, you were so excited. And I was like, "Great, Kate."

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And, of course, can they go all the way and win gold in Rio?

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I think we've got every chance of winning a gold medal,

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I think we've shown that now

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as we've just really progressed as a side.

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Of all the sports that you could have played, why hockey?

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I got into hockey not particularly out of choice, I was playing...

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I joined the school quite late, I was playing rounders

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and apparently I was very dramatic,

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diving for balls that were just coming straight at me.

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So I remember the rounders coach saying,

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"Right, we've got to get you in goal next season."

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And I actually hadn't heard of hockey or played it,

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I'd just come over from Belgium with my family.

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And being the new kid, obviously the goalkeeping position was available.

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So, shoved in, pads on and off I went,

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and I've learned to really love it, to be honest.

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-Georgie, what about you?

-Team sports were definitely my favourite.

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And I'm known for being very competitive,

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and I think hockey kind of is where I probably excelled in that regard.

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-And I just loved the kind of skill, speed element of it.

-And Kate?

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Yeah, very similar. I started off doing gymnastics and swimming.

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And then I went to secondary school

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and hockey was just one of the sports,

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like you say, rounders, netball, athletics.

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And probably picked hockey up better than the rest, to be honest.

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And you've now been playing hockey for how long?

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Oh, God, don't go there, shows how old I am. A long time ago.

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I'm 36 now, I started when I was about 11, 12. So, yeah, a long time.

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Are there injuries specific to hockey that you...

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or parts of your body that take more strain

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because of the bending down?

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Yeah, we're all going to be hunchback nanas.

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Although our physios and strength and conditioning coaches

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try and open us up, we're constantly in that position,

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so we're going to be like nanas with trolleys when we're older.

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But, yeah, backs take a lot of strain, our core.

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Kind of hips, glutes, they need to be really strong

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because they are really making sure that we're stable

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when we're in these ridiculous positions,

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slapping the ball, hitting the ball.

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But we get quite a lot of knee injuries, ankle injuries.

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I mean, we've got a bit of everything, really, haven't we?

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And you've got to be incredibly brave.

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I mean, Georgie, you're out there with no protection, really,

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and your job is to run at someone who's shooting at goal.

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-Some of the time, that's your job.

-Do you do that?

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-THEY LAUGH

-Treat me like a...

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"Oh, I'll break a nail!"

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That is not true!

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Erm, I guess we do hockey so much

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that it kind of becomes not scary.

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But, yeah, there can be times where you might be caught in no-man's-land

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and you're sort of five metres away from someone shooting at goal

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and it's that kind of, "Oh, I'm going to get hit here,

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"so I'm going to have to shut your eyes and run towards them",

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rather than sort of looking like a wuss and running out of the way.

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Maddie can take the shots, she's in goal with lots of protection.

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That's true. You are padded up to the nines.

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Everyone thinks we're the nutty ones,

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but actually we're the safest on the pitch, I reckon.

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These guys are out there to kind of make me look good, I reckon,

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and not make us do anything.

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And the better job they do, normally I just stand there.

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Have you ever actually played out in the field?

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We did a shoot the other day and I got put in a skirt

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and this lot were ripping me for looking really weird.

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You've got far too skinny legs for outfield hockey.

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Very white, skinny legs.

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Just pretending... And they were like, "Just go do what you do."

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And I was like, "What do I do?"

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and I got the stick and I'm just running round.

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But on the bravery scale, you've got a very high standard to live up to,

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because of you, Kate Richardson-Walsh.

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Because very few people

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carry the injury that you carried in London 2012

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and just want to get back to play as quickly as you can.

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-Just explain what happened.

-Well, it was a bit stupid, really.

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I went in for a tackle that I probably wished I hadn't,

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but the Japanese girl was crossing the ball from the right-hand side

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and I went in to tackle on my backhand, and unfortunately,

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and unusually for me, I got a little bit of the ball,

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which meant, then, she didn't get the ball

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and she just caught me completely by accident.

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She must have caught me on a sweet spot, right in the jaw,

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and straightaway I knew I'd done something really bad,

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because I could just feel all this kind of row of teeth

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up in the middle of my mouth.

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But it's crazy what adrenaline does,

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and the spirit of the moment.

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And there was no doubt in my mind, once the surgeon said,

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"There's a chance you can play,"

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I was like, "OK, right, we're going for it."

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Because you didn't really remember much -

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you probably had a bit of concussion as well.

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You've got a fractured jaw, you've come round from surgery,

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or come round from anaesthetic, and what do you say?

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So I just said, you know, "Am I going to be able to play?"

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and the surgeon was... He was all for it.

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Dr Simon Holmes was like,

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"Yeah, this is like a baseball-bat-to-the-face job,

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"I see these every week, east London.

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"Yeah, you're going to be fine."

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So from that moment on, it was just a case of trying to get stronger,

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put the weight back on that I'd lost,

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because I'd already lost 2kg from the match, which is kind of normal.

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And then I'd lost,

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because I'd not been able to eat after the match,

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so just trying to shove custard and yoghurt and God knows what down me.

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-Because you couldn't chew anything.

-No, I couldn't...

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I couldn't have any solid food for about ten weeks.

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Best diet ever.

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I still remember Kate turning up in the dining hall

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and she had these two bowls of this brown mixture.

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And she was so excited.

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And she had blended a roast dinner.

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Honestly, and you were so excited. And I was like, "Great, Kate."

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I tried to be really enthusiastic.

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That sounds really nice.

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-Put more gravy on it, why don't you?

-Actually amazing.

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-You could taste all the elements of a roast dinner.

-Good.

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-Highly recommend it.

-I'll try that.

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We're used to everybody's mothers being quite protective of us

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and not wanting us to get harmed

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and, you know, jumping in if somebody criticises us, or whatever -

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what was your mum's response when you got injured?

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She just wanted to come to the hospit...

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She just wanted to get to the hospital and see if I was OK.

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My dad went home. My dad was just like the most chilled person ever,

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he's like, "There's nothing we can do,

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"so I'm going to go home and wait to hear what the news is tomorrow."

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But you see, I heard that your mum said,

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"Oh, it's all right, at least we're 4-0 up.

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That does sound like my mum.

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Yeah, that's the kind of thing my mum would say.

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That's where I've got this competitive spirit from -

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that's my mum, sure.

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For you guys out there, what actually are you wearing?

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-You've got a gumshield.

-Yeah, gumshield is really important.

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I mean, that's saved a lot of teeth over the years.

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-Have you got anything protecting your...

-Abs.

-Yeah.

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-Obviously.

-Abs are protecting you.

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That's it. But no protective gear on your upper body.

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And what have you got on your lower legs?

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Quite a few of us wear shin pads,

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which cover just under your knee to just above your ankle.

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There's always the tiny gap around your ankle bone.

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-That you always get hit on.

-Always get hit on that gap.

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But that's it. That's all the protection that we wear.

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Maddie, with your kit, how long does it take you to get ready?

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Um, about ten minutes...normally.

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If I go over ten minutes, they start shouting at us to get quicker.

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As a goalie group, we like to gossip when we're going back,

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and this lot are always like, "Where are they?! Get them out!"

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So, ten minutes I can do it in,

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probably just under if I was rushing.

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And do you know what it weighs?

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It's roughly around 15 kilos of extra,

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so it's quite heavy in total, yeah.

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Especially when it gets wet.

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And when it gets wet -

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and obviously you're exercising in it as well

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and you're probably a bit hot -

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I've heard that it's really smelly, goalkeeper's kit.

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Right, Twiggy, you can back me up.

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Because... Because I share with Twiggy on trips,

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and I would classify myself as one of the cleanest goalies out there.

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Because if you don't wash it, then it will smell.

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And it does smell at times, but I wash it.

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-And then it doesn't smell so bad.

-You hand-wash it?

-No, I wax.

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So all the soft stuff, you can get in a washing machine. Two cycles.

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Shorts, body armour. And then all the foam, that doesn't smell,

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you can just put it in the bath.

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And then, yeah... And then you're good to go.

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And then do you spray it with something?

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Yeah. Normally after sessions, I get some Febreze on it.

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Obviously when we're away at trips,

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I don't have the access to get it in a washing machine,

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so I just Febreze it and, yeah, I think I'm all right, aren't I?

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Yeah, I would definitely second that

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-she's not a smelly goalie, definitely.

-No.

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The corridor in our hotel when we go away on tournaments,

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everyone puts their Astros, their shin pads and their gloves,

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and you do feel sorry if there are any other guests in the hotel

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because it absolutely stinks. It's not nice.

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-No, it's just build up of years of sweat.

-Good.

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I'm so glad we've discussed all this, yeah.

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We're really girlie.

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It's interesting that...

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There's a lot of research that says

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that young girls don't want to get into sport

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because they think it's going to mess up the way they look,

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and there is a balance there.

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There isn't a lot of room for vanity on the pitch,

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but do you worry at all about looks?

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And particularly with televised matches,

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do you make any extra effort?

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I'm going to ask you this, Georgie.

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-Why me?

-It's only if you wake up like that.

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THEY LAUGH

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I've always, you know, worn make-up for matches,

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always wear my pearl earrings, have my nails done,

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but I think that's just part of who I am and, actually, you know,

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when I step out onto the hockey pitch,

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I'm exactly the same as everyone else and, actually,

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there's quite a lot of us that do sort of, you know,

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make sure they do their hair nicely and make-up

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and just take a bit of pride in our appearance, really.

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Well, presumably there is certain make-up

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that you've got to get, that's going to have to be waterproof.

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You can't suddenly be streaming with badger eyes, you know.

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It stings your eyes. If you get non-waterproof mascara

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and it gets in your eyes - game over.

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And people do tend to get dressed up more for a match

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than, you know, regular training here at Bisham and things.

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And, to be fair, it's not something that's specific to women.

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I mean, look at Cristiano Ronaldo, look at David Beckham.

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They really care about their appearance,

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-they're very aware they're on camera.

-Yeah.

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I mean, for me, it's quite hard, because I put a helmet on my head.

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-But I try.

-You do still put some on.

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Get the eyes going.

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But, yeah, it's just interesting when you said,

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obviously, girls getting into the sport.

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Goalkeeping in particular is a tough one

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to get girls to put all the pads on.

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One, exactly what you said,

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they think it smells and it's not exactly

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the most flattering look in the world

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and then you put a helmet on your head,

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and when you take that off, well, there's just mess.

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So it's a tough one, but I think, with these guys,

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we all make an effort, even I would do.

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But I think there is...

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what you said earlier about you've got the chance to be a hero,

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and you've done that and I think people like that.

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They're going, "Oh, you're not just the last line of defence",

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you actually can be a complete match-winner.

1:34:341:34:37

Yeah, yeah, and that's why when I go into schools and talk to them,

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it's like, when you're little and you're growing up,

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who doesn't want to one day be the hero for the day?

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And I think, yeah, those moments in goalkeeping

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make all the little negatives that come with it well worth it,

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and I think it's a unique position.

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You have to have a unique character,

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but if a kid wants to grow up and be a hero,

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get the pads on and it will one day happen.

1:34:581:35:01

Georgie, have you found, as we get closer now to Rio,

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that training is intensifying

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and everybody's attitude in training is changing?

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Erm, I think the beauty of our programme

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is that we have been training so hard

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for the last couple of years, you know, as it is,

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but I think because of the schedule of Rio being so intense

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and so many matches in such a short period of time,

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you know, we've started doing extra running after training sessions,

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plenty of matches plus training, plus gym,

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and sort of increasing the volume in that respect,

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just to make sure that, when it comes to Rio, it might seem...

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Well, hopefully it seems a bit easier

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than actually what we've been doing here at Bisham.

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Do you enjoy training?

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Erm... Do you know what, I quite like the gym.

1:35:421:35:45

-Yeah, I like it.

-It's an area that you can just...

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You get a lot of chat, a lot of gossip, a lot of banter,

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but at the same time it hurts

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and you're ready to get out after an hour and a half or so.

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But you can always push yourself in there and see what you can do,

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and if you're angry it's a great place to take out the anger.

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Slightly concerning, that, Maddie.

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So you're basically admitting to me that you have anger issues?

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Straight away... Have we revealed something straight away?

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There's something about the gym, it releases hormones

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and we are at our base level in the gym.

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Team GB claimed their first Olympic women's hockey medal for 20 years

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after defeating New Zealand in the bronze-medal match in London 2012.

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The hosts picked themselves up from a narrow semifinal defeat to Argentina,

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to secure a convincing 3-1 win over New Zealand.

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I want to know what impact their success has had

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on the game in Britain.

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I think it's made a difference

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in that we believe that we are one of the top teams in the world.

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We believe that we can beat anybody on the day.

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It's not kind of a, you know, if everything goes well

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we'll cobble something together and we'll get a result.

1:36:471:36:50

No, we actually believe we can be the best team in the world,

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and I think you need the medals to feed into that confidence,

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otherwise it's kind of a bit of bluff and a bit of bravado.

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You need to back it up with actual medals,

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and I think we've been doing that over the last few years.

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Some of that comes from funding as well -

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and that's the other difference the medal in London made, isn't it?

1:37:051:37:08

Yeah, I mean, we are so reliant

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and so fortunate in having funding.

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So we have a National Lottery grant.

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We get money from UK Sport for the programme

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and then we all get individual grants

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and, yeah, had we not medalled in London,

1:37:201:37:21

that would have been cut, I think, substantially.

1:37:211:37:24

And I think some of us knew, going out there,

1:37:241:37:26

that, potentially, if we didn't medal,

1:37:261:37:28

we would possibly lose quite a lot of our funding, and that's quite hard to take onto the field.

1:37:281:37:32

I've been there in 2004 when we didn't qualify

1:37:321:37:34

and we lost 70% of funding,

1:37:341:37:35

and it was devastating for the programme.

1:37:351:37:38

How tough was it, Georgie and Maddie - when she went,

1:37:381:37:41

everybody was talking about the fact that, you know,

1:37:411:37:44

it might be her last game...

1:37:441:37:46

What were you thinking and were you hoping to persuade her otherwise?

1:37:461:37:50

Yeah, I mean, you know,

1:37:501:37:52

Kate has been such an inspirational leader to all of us,

1:37:521:37:56

not just in our team

1:37:561:37:57

but, I think, in the hockey world.

1:37:571:37:59

I feel very lucky to have played alongside her,

1:37:591:38:02

and we are extremely glad

1:38:021:38:03

that she has continued to carry on playing,

1:38:031:38:06

because she's an integral part of our team

1:38:061:38:09

and will be key to our success in Rio.

1:38:091:38:12

Erm... It will be a loss when she retires

1:38:121:38:14

because, you know, she has been captain for such a long time,

1:38:141:38:18

has brought so much to our sport,

1:38:181:38:20

you know, not just on the field, but off the field as well,

1:38:201:38:23

and there are big shoes to fill when she leaves us.

1:38:231:38:27

How do you choose your captain?

1:38:271:38:29

-Because it's not the coach's decision, is it?

-No.

1:38:291:38:32

It's a players' vote. I mean, going forward,

1:38:321:38:35

we don't know how that will happen,

1:38:351:38:37

but in the past it was a players' vote.

1:38:371:38:38

And then, from that, the captain kind of emerges,

1:38:381:38:40

but the way Kate came about it was quite interesting.

1:38:401:38:43

We were voting for co-captains,

1:38:431:38:45

and so I just thought we were going to have co-captains.

1:38:451:38:47

The coach said, "There's just such an overwhelming vote that we'll just have a captain,"

1:38:471:38:51

and they said it was going to be me. I was 23 at the time and I was like,

1:38:511:38:53

"There's people in the team ten years older than me,

1:38:531:38:56

"hugely experienced, multi-Olympians," and I was like,

1:38:561:38:58

"Oh, my God. I don't even know what I'm doing."

1:38:581:39:00

And I didn't know what I was doing for the first few years,

1:39:001:39:03

but, yeah, we've kept that.

1:39:031:39:04

I think we go through, like, what we want to be as a squad, don't we?

1:39:041:39:08

Like, how we want to be remembered,

1:39:081:39:10

what kind of squad we want to be,

1:39:101:39:12

and then we talk about how that should be led

1:39:121:39:14

and, therefore, who that should be led by.

1:39:141:39:17

-And it always seems to work itself out.

-Yeah.

1:39:171:39:20

Do they call you Captain Kate?

1:39:201:39:22

No. As a joke sometimes, maybe.

1:39:221:39:25

-We should.

-We will now.

-All through Rio.

1:39:251:39:27

Everybody thinks, "Right, you're the captain,"

1:39:271:39:30

you've been captain for ever,

1:39:301:39:32

that you're the leader on the pitch, but actually it seems to me

1:39:321:39:34

you encourage a leadership in individuals all the time -

1:39:341:39:37

that everybody's responsible for their own decisions.

1:39:371:39:40

Absolutely. I think that's the strength of our programme and the squad.

1:39:401:39:43

I was going to say, I think the amount of work

1:39:431:39:45

that the goalkeepers do on set pieces is unbelievable,

1:39:451:39:48

and then that's matched by the outfield players

1:39:481:39:50

doing the very same thing

1:39:501:39:51

for all of the opposition and all the outfield positions

1:39:511:39:53

and players that we're going to play against.

1:39:531:39:56

It's interesting to me, though,

1:39:561:39:57

because people think of teamwork being just what you do on the pitch,

1:39:571:40:00

but actually teamwork is everything, and more than anything

1:40:001:40:03

it's what you do in the times in between competitions.

1:40:031:40:05

-Yeah.

-The off-the-pitch stuff for us is key,

1:40:051:40:08

and obviously we spend a huge amount of time together as a group.

1:40:081:40:12

So I think the gym is what we classify as

1:40:121:40:14

as close to a social as we get together.

1:40:141:40:16

But there's regular dancing situations or singing situations.

1:40:161:40:19

We went through a phase with that One Direction song, didn't we?

1:40:191:40:22

-What was it called?

-History.

-History.

1:40:221:40:24

And we'd all just, like, get going.

1:40:241:40:28

And it would just make us feel so much better. So, yeah, it's good.

1:40:281:40:31

And then once we go, everyone goes home and then back in the next day.

1:40:311:40:35

What impact does it have on your social life?

1:40:351:40:37

I mean, do you ever go out to a party?

1:40:371:40:41

A party?

1:40:431:40:45

There are definitely lots of sacrifices that have to be made.

1:40:451:40:49

When I first came into the squad, I was at university at the time,

1:40:491:40:52

so it was a definite culture shock coming into the squad,

1:40:521:40:56

but, kind of, you know, what it takes to be at your best

1:40:561:41:00

and you learn what you can do and what you can't do.

1:41:001:41:02

And, you know, there's a squad of 31,

1:41:021:41:05

so it's everyone's individual responsibility

1:41:051:41:08

to make sure that you are in the best possible shape.

1:41:081:41:11

At the moment, sleep is an essential ingredient,

1:41:111:41:15

so, at the moment, we are not partying at all.

1:41:151:41:18

-So how many hours' sleep a night?

-Ten.

-Ten hours?

1:41:181:41:21

-You two are quite good sleepers, actually.

-We're good sleepers.

1:41:211:41:23

I probably get about seven or eight

1:41:231:41:26

and then I might have a nap if I can get time.

1:41:261:41:28

I'm about eight or nine.

1:41:281:41:30

I go for ten if I can.

1:41:301:41:33

-So we're in bed at nine.

-It's... Yeah, you know.

1:41:331:41:35

God, we're really boring!

1:41:351:41:38

No telly after nine o'clock? You've gone to bed.

1:41:381:41:41

-It depends. It depends what's on.

-Maddie's a later...

1:41:411:41:43

Later going to sleep, but you'll have a lie-in,

1:41:431:41:46

whereas I'll go to sleep early and wake up early.

1:41:461:41:49

And, Georgie, have you noticed much more interest in you,

1:41:491:41:52

and in hockey generally, since the Olympics?

1:41:521:41:54

Yeah, definitely.

1:41:541:41:56

I think the recent Europeans,

1:41:561:41:58

we were sold out at Lee Valley,

1:41:581:42:00

and I think participation of hockey has definitely grown

1:42:001:42:03

since London 2012.

1:42:031:42:04

You know, my hockey club at Surbiton,

1:42:041:42:06

at the weekend we have at least 900 kids, maybe 1,000 kids turning up,

1:42:061:42:11

which is fantastic.

1:42:111:42:12

So last August, the European Championships

1:42:121:42:15

were staged here in London, in Lee Valley.

1:42:151:42:18

What happened, Maddie?

1:42:181:42:20

So we got into the final and we were up against the Netherlands,

1:42:201:42:23

the current Olympic and world champions,

1:42:231:42:25

so we battled through to the end,

1:42:251:42:28

got ourselves to a shootout

1:42:281:42:30

and performed really well in that.

1:42:301:42:32

How nerve-racking is it when you are a penalty-taker?

1:42:321:42:36

Erm, it is quite nerve-racking.

1:42:361:42:39

But we've done so much practice,

1:42:391:42:41

so much work with the psychologist as well.

1:42:411:42:44

But I must say that when I stepped up to take that penalty

1:42:441:42:47

my heart was pounding.

1:42:471:42:49

You know, it was such a critical moment in a final...

1:42:491:42:55

And, yeah, I was quite nervous.

1:42:551:42:57

And unfortunately that penalty didn't go in, but do you know,

1:42:571:43:01

if that happened in an Olympic final and you had to do that again,

1:43:011:43:04

would you feel different because you've been in that situation once?

1:43:041:43:07

Definitely. I think, you know,

1:43:071:43:09

the people that took the penalties have taken them previously

1:43:091:43:13

and, for that reason, because we have stepped up on that stage,

1:43:131:43:16

we've experienced the pressure

1:43:161:43:18

and I've taken penalties since then,

1:43:181:43:21

so if the coach was to ask me, I would step up again.

1:43:211:43:25

As happened, it didn't matter,

1:43:251:43:27

because how many penalties did you save?

1:43:271:43:30

There was... I saved three out of the four.

1:43:301:43:33

I was letting Maddie have the glory.

1:43:331:43:36

That's very good of you! That's very good teamwork, you see.

1:43:361:43:38

And your preparation is unparalleled

1:43:381:43:42

and becoming legendary.

1:43:421:43:44

So you had this little black book - and most people in the old days

1:43:441:43:47

would have a little black book full of phone numbers -

1:43:471:43:49

what's in your little black book?

1:43:491:43:51

I wish there were some more phone numbers!

1:43:511:43:54

Ah, but no.

1:43:541:43:56

So, all it is... Normally I've done a lot of work elsewhere

1:43:561:43:59

in just separate notes,

1:43:591:44:01

and I basically narrow it down to kind of five or six clear points,

1:44:011:44:05

so it'll be like "Number six," for example,

1:44:051:44:07

"this is her strengths - likes to shoot on reverse",

1:44:071:44:11

and then I'd have,

1:44:111:44:12

"Get out hard then back off" or "tackle..."

1:44:121:44:15

Basically a game plan to counteract their strength.

1:44:151:44:19

And that's all I had, so every time I looked down I was just like,

1:44:191:44:21

"She likes to do this," and cos I've seen the video

1:44:211:44:23

I could kind of visualise in my head what I needed to do.

1:44:231:44:26

But they hadn't taken a penalty shootout for years, had they?

1:44:261:44:29

The Dutch don't end up in that situation that often,

1:44:291:44:31

so I had very minimal footage on them,

1:44:311:44:33

but I'd found some stuff at club level as well on certain players,

1:44:331:44:36

and a few of the girls have played in Holland

1:44:361:44:38

so they kind of knew them as well.

1:44:381:44:39

So you can get little bits from everyone

1:44:391:44:41

and then it gave me a direct thing

1:44:411:44:43

that I knew I was going to do, so there was no hesitation,.

1:44:431:44:45

And if they had the guts to step up and do something different,

1:44:451:44:48

fair play, and then it becomes more of a game-on situation.

1:44:481:44:50

But it was funny, cos every single Dutch player did exactly what I wrote down.

1:44:501:44:53

And they were nervous looking at me looking in the book, and it could have been blank.

1:44:531:44:57

It's a bit of a mental game. I just think, "Why not?"

1:44:571:44:59

You know, if it helps, it helps - and so far it has.

1:44:591:45:02

The only negative to it was what happened afterwards.

1:45:021:45:05

Yeah. So... Well, it's interesting.

1:45:051:45:08

In the third shuffle I tore my MCL.

1:45:081:45:10

And like Kate said about adrenaline when she did her jaw -

1:45:101:45:13

obviously nowhere near as bad -

1:45:131:45:14

I remember thinking, "Oh, that hurt,"

1:45:141:45:17

but I was like, "I'm fine."

1:45:171:45:19

And then I went and slid for the pile-on

1:45:191:45:21

and the whole team on top of me.

1:45:211:45:23

I had two fingers that I could move and it was hurting so much

1:45:231:45:26

and I was trying to pinch - I think it was Helen's shoulder -

1:45:261:45:29

to tell her, "I think I'm in trouble."

1:45:291:45:31

And then, yeah, it was fine

1:45:311:45:33

and ran around like a headless chicken all evening

1:45:331:45:35

and then, yeah, woke up in the morning and was quite sore.

1:45:351:45:38

-And then had to have a bit of time off.

-Yeah.

1:45:381:45:40

I was going on holiday the next day

1:45:401:45:42

and I turned up at the airport in this full leg brace and was like...

1:45:421:45:45

"But we're European Champions, it doesn't matter!"

1:45:451:45:49

-"Totally worth it!"

-"Took one for the team!"

1:45:491:45:52

After winning the 2015 EuroHockey Championships

1:45:521:45:55

where they beat Holland, the world's top-ranked side,

1:45:551:45:57

the squad have proved they have the pedigree

1:45:571:46:00

to improve on their bronze medal in London.

1:46:001:46:02

I want to know what confidence levels are like in the camp ahead of Rio.

1:46:021:46:07

I think it's been a really exciting Olympics.

1:46:071:46:09

There's a kind of top six, seven teams in the world

1:46:091:46:12

really are going to be vying for those medals,

1:46:121:46:15

and strength and depth in women's hockey has really grown,

1:46:151:46:18

which I'm really pleased to see.

1:46:181:46:20

But it just means it's going to be tight.

1:46:201:46:23

And with the quarterfinal format this time, that's different -

1:46:231:46:26

first time we're going to have that.

1:46:261:46:28

It's really, like, cat amongst the pigeons,

1:46:281:46:30

everybody's in with a shout, so it's exciting.

1:46:301:46:32

You've got a very strong group at the Olympics,

1:46:321:46:35

your opening match is going to be against Australia.

1:46:351:46:38

How much homework do you do on the opposition?

1:46:381:46:41

As well as working on your own technique and strength and game,

1:46:411:46:44

how much are you mugging up on them and everyone else in your group?

1:46:441:46:48

Many, many hours.

1:46:481:46:49

So, our coaching staff,

1:46:491:46:51

we have an analyst who is just phenomenal at what she does,

1:46:511:46:56

and how she breaks the game down.

1:46:561:46:58

And we can go up there

1:46:581:47:00

and look at any game, any player, any edit, any moment of game,

1:47:001:47:04

and she can pull that out for us

1:47:041:47:06

and we can look at it in detail, we can slow-mo it.

1:47:061:47:08

Sometimes we can get it from a couple of angles.

1:47:081:47:11

And there are literally hours spent,

1:47:111:47:14

"OK, I'm going to likely play against these forwards,

1:47:141:47:17

"what do they do?"

1:47:171:47:18

As Maddie said, what do they revert to under pressure,

1:47:181:47:21

what is their type, and how am I going to need to play against that?

1:47:211:47:24

And when we go to tournaments, I think that's our strength

1:47:241:47:26

and Danny's strength as coach, is our tactical set-up is always,

1:47:261:47:29

I think, one of the best in the world.

1:47:291:47:31

-Have you been to Rio, any of you?

-Nope.

1:47:311:47:34

But you know where you're going to be.

1:47:341:47:36

-Are you staying in the Olympic Village?

-Yeah.

1:47:361:47:38

And, obviously, you've done that before, Kate.

1:47:381:47:40

Maddie, this is your first Olympics.

1:47:401:47:42

Yeah, so in the London cycle, Danny sent myself and Susanna Townsend

1:47:421:47:46

on this "mission programme" to get a bit of an experience

1:47:461:47:48

of what it's all about, and actually,

1:47:481:47:50

I'm quite grateful for that

1:47:501:47:52

because there's a huge amount of distractions

1:47:521:47:54

and the village was so cool and, like, so much going on

1:47:541:47:57

and people that you admire just walking past casually

1:47:571:47:59

and I was like...

1:47:591:48:00

I think having done that now, it will be a little less daunting.

1:48:001:48:04

It will still be epic, I'm sure, but I definitely have a little bit

1:48:041:48:08

of an understanding of how it's going to look and feel and, erm...

1:48:081:48:11

-I think that's why he sent us on that.

-Yeah.

1:48:111:48:13

And for you guys, it is the beginning of an Olympic adventure.

1:48:131:48:18

For you, Kate, it's definitely the last one, do you think?

1:48:181:48:21

I don't think you can take anything other than the next day.

1:48:211:48:23

I think at the moment it's because everything is so intense,

1:48:231:48:27

just focusing on the next thing, the next day,

1:48:271:48:29

and I think what will be will be, afterwards, but for the moment

1:48:291:48:32

this has really got to have all my focus and attention.

1:48:321:48:35

Just finally, people are going to be watching you, supporting you,

1:48:351:48:38

obviously, what chance do you give yourself of winning a medal

1:48:381:48:43

and what chance of that medal being gold, Maddie?

1:48:431:48:46

I think we've got every chance of winning a gold medal.

1:48:461:48:48

I think we've shown that now as we've just really

1:48:481:48:50

progressed as a side and started to pick up more medals along the way.

1:48:501:48:53

The Europeans, even though it was England,

1:48:531:48:56

was a massive turning point in us as a programme and group,

1:48:561:48:59

cos not having quite ever reached that gold medal standard meant you

1:48:591:49:03

never fully understood what it took to get there or what it feels like.

1:49:031:49:06

And I remember afterwards thinking,

1:49:061:49:09

"If that's what a European gold medal feels like,

1:49:091:49:11

"what on earth would an Olympic gold medal feel like?"

1:49:111:49:14

And it's just given everyone that extra little push to be like,

1:49:141:49:17

"Right, let's make sure we go out there and give it our

1:49:171:49:20

"absolute best and leave no stone unturned and be ready."

1:49:201:49:23

But like Kate said,

1:49:231:49:24

the world of women's hockey is more competitive than ever.

1:49:241:49:27

The format is brutal.

1:49:271:49:30

And every team will be on their game, so...

1:49:301:49:33

We'll need a few things to go our way, as sport does,

1:49:331:49:36

but we will certainly leave there with no regrets

1:49:361:49:39

and we'll give it our best shot and I see no reason why

1:49:391:49:42

we can't win a gold medal and, yeah, we'll just see how we get on.

1:49:421:49:47

-Georgie?

-I don't know how I follow that!

1:49:471:49:50

-She's very good, isn't she?

-Very good, Maddie.

-Thanks.

1:49:501:49:54

Yeah, I mean, you know, we won that gold medal.

1:49:541:49:58

As Maddie said, winning that European gold medal gave us

1:49:581:50:02

a real taster of what success is and what we can actually achieve.

1:50:021:50:07

Erm, and so...

1:50:071:50:09

You know, to go to the Olympics and to try

1:50:091:50:12

and get that gold medal is all of our dreams

1:50:121:50:14

and it's what we've been training for day in, day out, back here.

1:50:141:50:19

Each game, no matter where you're ranked in the world rankings,

1:50:191:50:23

is going to be tough.

1:50:231:50:25

And we know that come Rio, come the first game,

1:50:251:50:29

we will be fully prepared, whichever team that goes

1:50:291:50:32

and we'll have the backing of the whole of the GB side.

1:50:321:50:36

It's so exciting, isn't it? Kate, it's so exciting.

1:50:361:50:39

It is amazingly exciting.

1:50:391:50:40

To see this group of girls that gets selected, to see them go out

1:50:401:50:44

and represent a squad of 31 and have that whole belief of the programme,

1:50:441:50:48

what we've done, the preparation,

1:50:481:50:51

all the hours we spent on the hockey pitch, the gym, the meeting room,

1:50:511:50:56

will be worth it for those moments we're in that bubble

1:50:561:50:59

of the Olympic Games and I really do believe we can win a gold medal.

1:50:591:51:03

Good luck to you and thank you so much for your time.

1:51:031:51:06

-Thanks for having us.

-Thank you.

1:51:061:51:08

It's amazing how much you can tell, how much you can read into

1:51:081:51:12

body language, the way people are with each other.

1:51:121:51:15

You can see what a good team they are

1:51:151:51:17

and what strong members of the squad, but also in their own ways,

1:51:171:51:21

that Maddie and Georgie lead as much as Kate does and she encourages that,

1:51:211:51:25

so she's not just a leader in name,

1:51:251:51:28

she empowers those around her.

1:51:281:51:30

And you can also tell the love and

1:51:301:51:32

respect that her team-mates have for her.

1:51:321:51:35

So good luck to them in Rio.

1:51:351:51:36

It's going to be hugely exciting

1:51:361:51:38

and if they can get into the position of getting

1:51:381:51:41

into the gold medal match then who's to say they couldn't become

1:51:411:51:44

the first British women ever to win the Olympic gold medal?

1:51:441:51:47

Fingers crossed.

1:51:471:51:49

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