Fresh off being named to the Canadian field hockey team for the upcoming 2022 Women’s World Cup, Cowichan’s own Sara Goodman was back on her home turf last Sunday.
Goodman was one of six members of the national program, including four who will be travelling to the World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands next month, who guided young players through a camp at the Cowichan Sportsplex.
“I’m very happy I get to be back here with some of the members of my team,” Goodman said. “It’s always important to have role models, and a lot of talent has come out of Cowichan. I’m happy to be a role model for some of the young talent coming up.”
Goodman is just one of many Cowichan field hockey products who have gone on to success at the national and provincial levels, and she was impressed by the young players who are following in her footsteps.
“We were saying that this camp is one of the more talented groups we’ve seen,” she commented. “Cowichan has always been good at developing players, and it’s good to see that has continued.”
The Canadian team will leave later this month for the World Cup, where they will play in Spain in a group that includes Spain, Argentina and South Korea. Goodman was one of 18 players named to the World Cup team when the roster was announced on June 7.
“I’m so excited,” she enthused. “It’s just one of those things that every hockey player thinks about growing up.”
It has been 28 years since Canada last qualified for the World Cup. The Canadians are ranked 15th in the world and know they will face an uphill battle to collect any hardware in Europe.
“As in any other tournament, we would love to medal, but that’s a pretty big goal for us,” Goodman admitted. “We want to be able to be proud of ourselves at the end of the day. We want to focus on it and stay present and take in the experience.”