In this episode
Hockeyroo Amy Lawton and Bicton Primary School student Bailey.
Olympic Hockeyroo Amy Lawton is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics with the hopes that the team will secure a gold medal. Amy shares how she got her start in hockey and what her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was like. Bicton Primary School sporting star Bailey also chats about how important running is to hockey and why she enjoys team sports.
About Amy Lawton and Bailey
Amy Lawton is midfielder star playing with the Hockeyroos, she’s back at her second Olympics hoping to claim the top spot.
Amy moved to Australia when she was 8 years old and fell in love with all kinds of sports including Little Athletics, soccer, and triathlon.
Since finding her home in hockey, Amy has narrowed her sporting focus down to the one sport but still uses what she previously learnt to improve her skills.
By 2021 she became the fourth youngest Hockeyroo to compete at an Olympic game.
Like Amy, Bailey is a passionate hockey player who’s on the rise in the School Sport WA team.
Bailey enjoys the team nature of the sport, playing friends and working together.
She trains with Little Athletics and is keen to see where her hockey takes her.
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Transcript
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You're listening to Ed Talks WA.
My name is Fiona Bartholomaeus and I'm your host for this episode.
We’re full swing into the 2024 Olympic season and we’re cheering on our Aussie athletes as they battle it in France, for a gold medal in dozens of sports.
Amy Lawton is a hockey athlete who made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the team came fifth, and she's back again competing for gold at the Paris Olympics.
Last year, the Hockeyroos finished third in the Women's International Pro League and are currently ranked fifth in the world.
When she's not a hockey player or a university student, Amy's a soccer player and triathlete. But she's not the only talented athlete joining us on this episode.
Bailey is an 11-year-old upcoming sporting superstar from Bicton Primary School. She represents WA in the school sports WA hockey team and is also a passionate runner.
Amy Bailey, thanks so much for joining me.
Amy Lawton
Thanks, excited to be here.
Bailey
Same.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Now Amy, let's look at your journey. How does a young girl born in the UK come to be playing hockey and representing Australia at the Olympics?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, I was born in the UK, moved over here when I was six, originally to Victoria and then relocated to Perth for the National Women's Team, which is based here.
I started playing hockey when I was eight years old and yeah, like you said, I had kind of that little brief there, just frothed sports growing up.
Same as Bailey here, like was in, you know, everything under the sun, really. Soccer, triathlon, athletics, hockey, kind of everything I could do, I was just that little blondie running up and down the field pretty much. And yeah, I guess that kind of started the passion for the journey to where I am now and yeah, going to my second games.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Did you ever think you'd be competing at the Olympics? Not once, but twice? Was it a goal from the start?
Amy Lawton
I think like the Olympics is a pinnacle, you know, in sport and having that opportunity to go twice is absolutely amazing. And yeah, maybe I'll have a couple more in mem I don't know we'll see how we go.
But yeah, absolutely honoured to go to my second games in Paris.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what about you, Bailey? What made you decide to get involved with hockey?
Bailey
Well, it wasn't really my choice. Dad played hockey and I played too.
It's just become a sport that I like to do a lot.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Do you play hockey together?
Bailey
Well, no. He's much older than me and he plays in the ones and I play in my five-sixes grade, but sometimes I fill in for the girls' nines-tens when they need an extra player.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what do you enjoy the most about playing hockey?
Bailey
I think I like that it's a team sport and you can just come and go, have fun with your friends.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
This will be the second time Amy's going to the Olympics. Do you have the Olympics goal in your mind? Is that a dream for you?
Bailey
Yeah, so dream, probably maybe not happen, but something I'll look forward to if I can do.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
I think dream big. There's no harm in trying your best to get there.
Now, Amy, you're back again at the Olympics, representing Australia for the second time, going back to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. What was that experience like?
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Yeah, obviously quite different to what I'm assuming Paris will be like in terms of that being the COVID games.
But for me, it was my first games obviously, so just the opportunity to go in itself was super exciting considering originally it was postponed and then cancelled and then having the opportunity to go was obviously super exciting and I think the results for us were quite disappointing coming in at fifth there.
We'd had a really good run in the rounds and then lost in that quarterfinal match against India and yeah I mean going to that as my first games was an amazing experience and I was lucky to have quite experienced roommates in my room so that was great as well because you know all the excitement of going to your first games, you know can bubble over a little bit.
So, you know, trying to stay focused and getting the job done is something I'd learnt at that Games. Like, for example, I went in, we got in at like 1 am into the village and the first thing I wanted to do was open my uniform, because that's all in your room, ready there for you. And my roommate, Rachel Lynch, who most people would probably know, iconic Australian hockey player, was like, ‘you can open it tomorrow, go to bed. You've still got time tomorrow morning to open all your gears’.
So little things like that, I guess I learnt from the Tokyo Games. So yeah, excited to be there again.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how different is it from the Pro League? Is there a different kind of pressure at the Olympics?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, well, Olympics is pinnacle in our sport. I think every team prepares to try and win that one and Pro League is our home and away league kind of that happens every year, and we're lucky to have been a part of that since it started.
And yeah, that's more of preparation games, I'd say for majors like the Olympics. And so we've been doing that throughout this year, but you know, you don't want to show all your secrets and things in the pro league games, so saving some things like that to bring out the Olympics.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So when it comes to the Olympics, what are the expectations of the Hockeyroos? Is it more medals or placing well? Is there an expectation?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, for sure. I think you don't want to go to an Olympics without a bit of an expectation on how you want to perform.
We're super lucky that our head coach won in the 2000 Games, you know an iconic era for hockey with the Golden Girls, as they were kind of called. And, you know, I think that's a little bit of inspiration.
And obviously after our not great results in Tokyo, a bit of fire in our bellies to try and do well in these games, definitely try and get a medal and, yeah kind of showcase some of the things we've been working on developing over the last few years, particularly after our bronze medal at the World Cup and silver medal at the Comm Games.
I think, you know, the only medal left is gold, I guess.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And who's the main competition that you guys are looking out for this year?
Amy Lawton
Well, the Dutch are always, you know, the greatest in the women's hockey.
They've been I think, unbeatable almost for, you know, the last five to ten years and it would be awesome to kind of play them in a medal game.
I think, unfortunately, we'd play them in a crossover at some point, whether that's quarter or semi.
But, yeah, they're definitely top at the moment and just the opportunity to play against them is always a good battle, yeah.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And I know the question on a lot of people's minds is about the Olympics village itself. We all think there's a bit of partying going on. Is that true?
Amy Lawton
Well, not from my experience in Tokyo. I think, you know, obviously with COVID in and about there, we couldn't do that. But because of hockey being, you know, quite a long-stretch competition, we're almost competing for the entirety of the games, so yeah we don't obviously really have that opportunity like maybe some individual athletes that compete, you know the first week and then have the second week to do whatever they want.
But again, this year it's different in terms of kind of space in the village, athletes as soon as they finish have to leave within I think it's 48 hours of finishing competition just because there's not enough rooms for every athlete to be in the village.
So yeah, we're pretty much in you know do our job and head out again.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So not much time to watch other events.
Amy Lawton
No, but you know, we all bring our little projector to put up in our room or join the little Aus HQ area downstairs to cheer on the other Aussie athletes.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Now, I'm assuming, Bailey, hockey is high on your list to watch for the Olympics, but are there any other sports that you're keen to watch?
Bailey
I think swimming, always watching the fastest races like Ledecky and all those people.
Snowboarding.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Oh, snowboarding.
Bailey
Similar to skateboarding, I just like all the tricks that they can do. It's pretty cool.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Do you sit there when you watch the hockey games and maybe take notes or record so you can re-watch clips back later?
Bailey
Not usually, but my dad's always talking to me about something after the game.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So it's good to keep in mind and see what's going on.
Bailey
Yeah.
If you were to watch one Olympic game, say you would be able to, what Olympic game would you watch?
Amy Lawton
If I was able to go watch any one of the sports, maybe go watch Jess Fox. But I think another one is the climbing. That's pretty cool.
And obviously, yeah, Matilda's can’t go of wrong I reckon. They're pretty iconic. That would be an awesome game to go and watch.
But I think it's hard to pick, like, everything's so exciting at an Olympics. But, yeah, if I could go to all of them, I would but I have to compete myself, obviously. So, yeah, got to keep the blinders on to stay focused.
But, yeah, I don't know what would you go watch?
Bailey
Like I said, the snowboarding, the hockey and chuck in anything really.
Amy Lawton
Yeah. Would you go watch the break dancing?
Bailey
I didn't know that was a thing but sure I'd watch that.
Amy Lawton
It's a new one, I think.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
It's a new sport. It came in not long ago, I think.
Amy Lawton
Yeah, yeah. It should be an interesting one to watch because, you know, different kind of skill, I guess, involved in that kind of thing.
I'm not a great dancer so I would enjoy watching.
Bailey
Me neither.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
That makes three of us.
You said you may not get a chance to check out much of the other events because you have to move out of the village quite quickly. But will you have time to check out France and Paris?
Amy Lawton
Well, I think in the kind of lead-up period, we're there for a little bit playing some inter, I guess, inter games against some of the other countries in the other pools. And we've been told we might have half days off, but I don't think we'd be able to venture too far.
I do believe that where we're staying is maybe only 8km or so from the Eiffel Tower, so that maybe is a quick stopover we can go to. But pretty much after the Games is finished, yeah, most of us are holidaying or having a bit of a break because this is our main competition.
So I won't be staying in Paris, but I will be doing a little bit of Europe, so that'll be fun nonetheless.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Do you have any questions for Amy about the Olympics? Not about the Olympics, but I heard that you like rock climbing.
Amy Lawton
Yes, I do actually enjoy going rock climbing. Probably more bouldering in terms of then I can go by myself and don't need someone to kind of harness you up the wall. But, yes, I did do it a bit this year until I got told off by my coach, actually, so don't tell Trini.
But, yeah, I just thought it was a fun activity kind of to do something away from hockey and build my strength and control in a different way and something that, yeah, could hopefully benefit me on the hockey field. And I also, you know, went to some yoga classes and stuff that was involved at the gym that I went to.
So, yeah, a few all-round benefits, but it's good fun. Do you rock climb?
Bailey
Not usually, but sometimes just go for fun.
Amy Lawton
Maybe we should go together then.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
That'd be great. Hockey star and upcoming hockey star together climbing the wall.
Amy Lawton
Preparing for the Brisbane Olympics, obviously.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Of course.
With your rock climbing, I know you also play soccer and triathlete as well.
How important is it to do other sports in addition to your main one, which is hockey?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, well, I guess both soccer and triathlon I haven't actually properly done for a while. That was probably most prevalent in my kind of life before hockey took over, I guess. And because I debuted so young, I was 17 when I played my first game for the Hockeyroos, I was doing you know, everything under the sun, like I said as I was doing as a kid.
And so that kind of forced me to reduce, I guess, my load in other things but I still absolutely love watching soccer and watching the triathletes compete.
I mean, you've got the Matildas making women's sport absolutely amazing in Australia at the moment and that's so inspirational to see. And some of the girls in my team are mates with some of those girls. So it's pretty cool, like the cross-connection sport that you can build, you know, growing up playing with some pretty cool people, whether you make it to the international level or not is, yeah, pretty awesome.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
What about yourself, Bailey? Do you pick up any other sports besides hockey in your spare time?
Bailey
Well, I just kick the soccer ball around with my brother after school and Little Athletics, I do training with that. Like, I have training tonight.
Amy Lawton
What's your favourite event?
Bailey
Two hundred, 100 and long jump.
Amy Lawton
Oh, speedy girl.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Bailey
Do you find, like, all that running from Little Athletics helps with your hockey?
Bailey
Yes, it helps so much. Like, just when the ball's out in the space, being able to sprint down and just go and grab it really early is helpful.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
We'll have to have a running race with you both at some point to see who is the speediest hockey player.
Amy Lawton
Yeah, I don't know if I'll take the win there.
Bailey
I think you would.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Now, just going back to the Olympics for a small second, I'm quite curious, what was the food like at the Olympics? Only because I know some athletes may prefer different kinds of foods or carbs depending on their sport. Is there a bit of a variety?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, so Aus Olympic team's really good at providing kind of things that I guess we'd have back home. So, you know, taking the classics like Vegemite and Tim Tams, all the things that Aussies love are always there, which is great.
But yeah, Aus Olympic team has like a little area kind of downstairs from the, I guess, athlete accommodation area, which is a grab and go station as they like to call it. So there's lots of kind of foods there that you can grab and go, as it's called, particularly for breakfast and lunch. And I think that's super handy because of how hectic the kind of dining hall is.
And yeah, the dining hall has every option under the sun, really. Like I mean they have to adapt for every you know nationality and every cuisine there, so if you can imagine a massive hall and then the whole outside is lined with food options, I guess that's what it is.
So yeah sometimes that's a bit overwhelming and you want to try a bit of everything but you have to have a bit of self-control and yeah we're lucky that Aus Olympic team has a lot of the stuff we'd have I guess back at home.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Since joining the Olympic team and reaching great heights in hockey, has the way you view and enjoy hockey changed?
Amy Lawton
I think, yeah, initially you know, I was playing hockey just because I loved running around. Like I said, that little girl just running up and down the sidelines, wasn't very good at it, I'd say, initially.
And I guess as I got a bit better, a bit more pressure on me and things like that, you know, maybe changed my perspective of the game. But now being a bit more of a, I guess, established member of the Hockeyroos team, I'm trying to kind of bring back to that early connection that I had with the sport and with the game itself, enjoying it, playing with your good friends, you know, and just that's, you know, usually when you play your best when you're just running around and having some fun.
And yeah, obviously trying to do some good skills and stuff as well along the way, but, yeah, that's usually how you can bring out that good stuff is bring it back to the stuff of why you started it and why that little girl loved running up and down the field.
Bailey
When you were younger, did you like to watch ones and twos, women's and men's hockey games?
Amy Lawton
I did, yeah.
Yeah, I always went down to my local club's games. So I played for Southern United in Victoria, you probably haven't heard of them, but yeah, would always go down and I remember my first senior game, I actually played with my mum.
So yeah, I played with my mum in like the metros, I'm not sure what it's called in Perth and yeah, since then was super involved with, yeah, the senior people at my club. Loved playing with them. And you can learn so much from watching them or playing with them, which I was lucky enough to do, you know, quite early on as a little kid. Yeah.
Bailey
Did any of your family play hockey apart from your mum?
Amy Lawton
Well, yeah, my younger sister plays. She's in the Australia A team, so she's kind of in the development squad at the moment.
She's a few years younger than me, and so, you know, we're quite competitive, and she's a defender, and I'm a more midfielder, and she's one of the people that can always tackle me. It really annoys me, but you know, it's a good challenge.
And mum and dad played a little bit at home when they were kids growing up, kind of through school, but they grew up in Zimbabwe, which is in Africa, and hockey wasn't a big sport there, so they were much more into squash and athletics and stuff, but super active nonetheless. I guess.
Bailey
Was it because of your family that you decided to play hockey?
Amy Lawton
I would say maybe not, actually. I think I love the team aspect of it.
I'm similar to you in terms of like you get around with your friends and have some fun and I think that's why I loved it. I always loved team sports more than individual sports.
And I did do Little Aths like you, but I was not a fast runner I was doing the long stuff. And yeah, I think I liked being with people on the same team as you versus racing everyone out there.
Is that kind of how you feel?
Bailey
Yeah.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
The Education Minister’s Running Challenge for 2024 is well underway, Amy how important is the technique of running to hockey?
Amy Lawton
Not I would say as important as it is for runners exactly, like sprinters. I would say it's not as important because you're, you know, low to the ground and your hands right in front of you almost the whole time.
We do do some kind of running technique stuff more just for speed and power in the game, but yeah more just general fitness, speed, strength, all the kind of important things combining together to make you agile on the field.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So you don't have a sprint coach or anything like that? No special montage training?
Amy Lawton
No we have a S&C, so strength and conditioning coach, but that's more kind of getting strong at times we need to be, you know, performing I guess.
So heading into an Olympic cycle like now, a bit more kind of power and strength stuff and making sure we're hitting certain distances in the week and making sure we're hitting our max speed as much as possible, just so you know, when we're ready to sprint out the field we can do it.
So not too much technique but that's okay I guess you know we can learn that one time in my life.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
I was going to ask you, Bailey, how much you run, but obviously you are ahead of the field with that.
Do you do many drills with the rest of your team when it comes to running?
Bailey
Well, in hockey, we always have our warm-ups. We always do our technique.
And in Little Athletics, my old coach was very in on the technique, more in the warming up, not in the actual running. But then my new coach now, he's drilling us about all our arms and where our legs go.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
It's interesting. Thinking about where your arms and legs go and what you have to do, it makes total sense when it comes to hockey.
I mean, you're having to run around with a hockey stick in your hand and also not having to trip over it and know where the ball and your team are.
Bailey
Yeah, can't say I'm not that clumsy because I did just fall over before.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Have you ever fallen over, Amy?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, actually quite an embarrassing one not that long ago. We were playing a series here in Perth and, yeah I made an intercept, was having a bit of a breakaway, and I went to make a pass but my teammate led the other way. So then I tried to pull out of the pass and in doing so I just started a big long stumble and couldn't catch my feet and went, you know, face over, hit the ground and I was quite embarrassed by that actually but, you know, hopefully that doesn't happen at the Olympics, hey?
Fiona Bartholomaeus
How important was running to you back in school? Did you find that what you did back then has helped open up opportunities now?
Amy Lawton
Yeah, for sure. I think like doing Little Aths growing up and being a super active kid, running was something you just had to do and I also loved it like I said running up and down the side of the field was you know something I love to do every weekend. And I guess even as I was growing up going for kind of runs in the off season was super important to help me get to where I am now I guess, and like I said to Bailey before my mum and dad were both active kids and always try and motivate my sister and I to remain active all the time.
So off season we were doing all the hard running is probably when we're doing the most of it but yeah do do a lot of running yeah
Bailey
Being younger in the team when you first got picked to go to the Olympics, did that mean anything?
Amy Lawton
Well, I think I was the fourth youngest ever to go to the Olympics or something, which is kind of crazy. I was 19 at my first games.
And yeah, I guess that's quite special but I was also really lucky to have kind of the guidance and experience of those older girls.
I think it would have been like a deer in headlights otherwise, because the Olympics is just a whole another scale of things. But yeah, like super lucky to go to that as my first games and experienced it with those kind of more senior girls but also being kind of that young blood in the team and a lot of kind of slang that they didn't know I was bringing into the group.
Even the other day I said something and Brooke Parris was like, I thought you invented that word. And I said, ‘no, girl, that exists. It's been around for a while just because you're 30. It's still a thing’.
But, yeah, it was exciting. Yeah, I was honoured to be one of those girls that went and, yeah, lucky to go again for Paris.
Bailey
What do you consider is your strength on the hockey pitch?
Amy Lawton
Well, I would like to say I have a few strengths. I think I have good ball carry skills. I think I have good passing vision and I think I work really hard.
I'm a big runner on the field and quite a sweaty person too because I'm running so much. But, yeah, I'd say those are my strengths.
What about you?
Bailey
I think my running, my skills weren't as good, but then my skills have gotten better. But I think I just use my running to my advantage.
Amy Lawton
Nice.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Now, Bailey, we've been chatting with Amy today about her hockey career and representing Australia at the Olympics. Do you have any sporting tips for Amy as she heads over to France?
Bailey
Have lots of sleep.
Amy Lawton
Good one.
Bailey
Run a lot, try hardest.
Amy Lawton
I'm going to take that with me, of course. I'm going to do all those things. Super important. You're right sleeps very important. Can't get distracted by the village, and yes, never stop running, hey?
Easy thing to do.
Bailey
And no partying.
Amy Lawton
Good one, noted.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Amy, do you have any other hockey or sporting tips for Bailey and those listening?
Amy Lawton
Well, I can already tell Bailey works really hard and I think the important thing is just to keep enjoying it.
If you don't enjoy it, you're not going to keep going with it and I think being active and doing sport as a young kid and then growing into that is a super important thing to have in your life.
So, I'm lucky that I've made a lot of great connections through the sport and all my best friends pretty much play hockey. So, yeah, just keep loving it.
Bailey
Because of you, have any of your friends decided to play hockey?
Amy Lawton
I'm going to say no because a lot of my school friends are super into what they're studying, not the most active kind of girls, but I think they like to claim me as their Olympian friend, so that's not too bad.
And, yeah, all my other kind of friends play hockey, so I'm lucky that I'm very involved in that community.
What about you? Have you influenced anyone?
Bailey
Not really, but one of my friends dropped out of hockey.
Amy Lawton
What? No! You'll have to get her to come back.
Bailey
One of the boys in my class, we're always arguing about which is the better hockey team because he plays for Melville and I play for Freo.
Amy Lawton
And who wins the argument?
Bailey
Me.
Amy Lawton
Have you ever played against him?
Bailey
No.
Amy Lawton
Maybe we'll have to have a one-on-one battle then. See who the true champ is.
Bailey
I didn't get to play against him in the Bunbury Carnival because I was too busy playing with my state team.
Amy Lawton
Oh, that's a flex. I like that.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You've been listening to Ed Talks WA, a Department of Education WA podcast.
Thanks to our guests, Amy Lawton and Bailey, for joining me on this episode.
This episode was recorded on Whadjuk Noongar land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians and pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Thank you for listening.
Stay tuned to your favourite podcast player for future episodes.
Notes
Learn more about Amy Lawton here.