Hockey goalies need quick reactions, agility and the ability to be fearless in the face of rocketing hockey balls.
Constable Sam Davidson has all these skills, helping him secure a place in the New Zealand team to compete at the World Masters Hockey World Cup in Cape Town this month.
The Onerahi Community Constable reckons he’s been honing his skills and is in great shape to face the best hockey players in his age division in the world. He’s in the Master Men’s 40 age group and was selected after the National Masters tournament in Wellington.
Sam is a regular at the New Zealand Police hockey tournament and has without a doubt helped the Northland side claim the latest championship title. But this is the first time he has donned the Silver Fern and represented his country.
He flies out to Cape Town today (7 October) with the opening ceremony three days later.
Sam’s funded the trip himself, raffling firewood and holding a pub quiz among other things to raise the necessary funds and pay for his playing kit.
Sam has played in the Springfield club hockey premier side for a number of years. He collected the MVP award this season and has previously played as goalie in the National Hockey League for Northland.
In the build up to the World Cup, Sam has tapped into the experience of former New Zealand goalkeeper and Northlander Grant Croft, and worked on speed, foot work and agility.
“It’s the first time I’ve been coached," says Sam. "I’ve just relied on good reflexes and developed technique through playing the game rather than being taught.
"With Crofty we have broken down the skill sets and worked on those, like body positioning and sliding. I’ve never trained so hard in my life.”
Regular hockey training sessions have been woven around intense gym sessions – all while working full-time and serving his community.
Included in the training schedule has been facing a machine that fires rubber balls at 100kmh to sharpen reactions.
Sam credits his 16-year-old daughter, who is also a hockey goalie, as the reason for pushing himself.
“I wanted to show her if you put the effort in you can take your game to another level.”
Sam's daughter, who is still at school, played in the women’s premier grade this last season and got the most improved award along with the club’s best goalkeeper award.
Defending the goal at a penalty corner time takes some nerve with balls rocketing at you. Goalkeepers can have less than one second to react to a shot from the edge of the circle and move to stop it.
“It’s not for the faint-hearted. I think ‘beast mode’ and I come out and throw everything at it.”
Despite the extensive padded amour goalies wear, Sam has previously suffered two broken wrists as the result of a hockey ball. He’s also dislocated his hip sliding to save a goal.
Sam says he loves the team environment, but being a goalie also allows room to be an individual.
“It can be the difference between winning and losing. The ball must go through 10 other players but it’s the goalkeeper who can make the difference at the end of the day.”
The World Cup will be played out across two countries - South Africa and New Zealand - with each hosting different age divisions. While over 110 teams have entered the Cape Town event, more than 130 teams will be coming to New Zealand in November to compete at the National Hockey Centre in Auckland.
Sam's New Zealand team will be one of 13 teams in the Master 40s division, which also includes Argentina, England, Australia, France, Germany, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and USA. They will be playing the tournament at two venues, including the Western province Cricket Club at the base of the imposing Table Mountain.
“This is my first time to South Africa so I’m really looking forward to doing some sight-seeing after the tournament.”
Sam is well connected to Onerahi community where has worked for eight of his 12 years in Police and says the support has been amazing.
“This is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often, so we have high expectations as a team. We need to perform at a high level continuously. For me, it will be making that first save and then it’s on.”