Amy Brodie is set to face one of the biggest challenges of her life.  On July 9th she will step onto the Peffermill turf in Edinburgh to represent Scotland under-18s in the EuroHockey Youth Nations Championships.  And with a sporting mentality so mature, yet so willing to grow, In The Winning Zone felt it was only right to make Amy Brodie our ‘Rising Star’ for July…

The finisher; the poacher; the headliner; the lone wolf; all popular quips attributed to the shooters, sluggers, strikers and spikers in the world of team sport.  They are the individuals with the gift that children aspire to, the smiling faces on the back pages we will always remember.  When the occasion demands it, they will score the winner.

Amy Brodie, one of Scotland’s under-18 hockey stars taking centre stage at this month’s Youth Nations Championships in Edinburgh, is one such phenomenon.  She has been the top goal scorer for Scotland under-16s, and now the under-18s, for three consecutive seasons, and her next target is to become a regular scorer for the under 21s.

But, even though she is only 16, Amy has realised there is more to hockey than scoring goals.  She has learned that with proper teamwork, communication and sound advice from more experienced individuals, not only can she improve her own game, but it will improve her team’s performance as well. 

“I know what I need to develop in my game,” said the Portobello schoolgirl.  “Right now I am working on the more tactical side of things.  I wasn’t the most hockey minded person before, I was more of an individual flair player, I didn’t really think of the tactical side.  But training and playing at under-18 level and at the East of Scotland Institute of Sport has really opened my eyes as to why you do certain things.

“It has taught me there is no point in doing it all yourself when you are in a team.  When you see five passes strung together to get a goal, you realise that it is so much faster and easier than what I have ever tried to do.”

Amy admits herself that before she received this kind of coaching, she was a more one dimensional player.  Scoring goals was her only focus, which she saw as an individual responsibility.  But not any more.

“It is about selfless running, taking defenders out of space and letting other people into it.  I have never seen hockey from that angle before.  And it is just great to see us work as a team.”

And what does Amy see as the key to a winning team?  “A leader is important.  Someone you can look up to, and if you have problems you can talk to them, because communication is really key on the pitch to get everyone up for the game.  It is hard when some players are a bit down, so you’ve got to support each other.”

The squad have endured a gruelling few months of preparation for the Peffermill tournament.  It is being vaunted as the centrepiece of the Scottish Hockey calendar, so they want to put in a good showing.  But even though the training has been tough, in the long term Amy is confident it will be of benefit when the pressure is really on. 

“If you’ve got a team you play and train with a lot, and you know each other well on the pitch, it really helps.  We’ve had training weekends away pretty much every week for the past three months, and then a lot of fitness training as well.  More than I have ever done before!  We all know each other pretty well because we have come up together through the under-16s.  We are really close and it will stand in our favour for the tournament.”

Amy has experienced the pressure cooker of an all-star international tournament before.  In early spring the top talent from Scotland, England and Wales was brought together to play in the inaugural ‘Super Six’ competition.  Hyped as part of the selection process for GB’s Beijing Olympics squad, six ‘super teams’ were formed to compete in a round-robin contest. 

Amy represented the Highland Jaguars, (the other Scottish team being the Caledonian Cougars) and the experience taught her a lot about top flight hockey.  Not only did she experience first hand the pace and intensity of first class international match-play, she also got the chance to pick up all-important tit-bits of advice from her more seasoned team-mates.

“Holly Cram, a senior striker sat me down and taught me a lot about how to run in an arc and split the pitch, forcing the defender into the corner.  So even if you don’t score you can still contribute to the goal by creating the pressure.”

And Amy is also amusingly open about how she likes to be treated by her peers and coaches.  The hard, harsh truth has a much stronger influence on her game than being mollycoddled.  “I like it when I get positive feedback, but I really don’t like it when I do something bad and I’m told ‘nice try’.  I just want to be told it’s crap. 

“My coach at under-18, Charlotte Jones, will tell me if I’m rubbish, and that gets me going and makes me want to do better.  If I do something bad I will sort it out.  I’ve got quite a good temperament.  I just can’t stand being patronised.”

Lining up against Germany, England and Spain in the EuroHockey tournament, Amy knows her team will be pushed to their limits.  Germany are one of the world’s very best, while the England clash will see the girls face up against their potential British team-mates in years to come.  The game could effectively become a GB trial in itself. 

Nonetheless, she is confident the Scots can put in a good showing, and reckons their chances of winning are strong, should they put in the right performance. 

“If we get a good win at the start [they play Germany on July 9th, day one of the tournament] and get our morale up, I think we could go on to win it.  Though I think we could definitely do with more confidence.  We just need a win to get us going, or even a good game.  And slotting away our goals will help.”

And if the GB selectors are watching, Amy will be ready.  “I’d like to get into the GB squad for London 2012.  I was really nervous at the Super Six this year, so I’d really like the chance to play my heart out, show them what I can do.  I am in this to go all the way.”

In front of goal, Amy has always been the finisher, but is she the finished product?  The stage is now set for her to prove it to us.

RO

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