Grateful Pearce can’t wait to start Hockeyroos chapter

Meg Pearce’s story of resilience and persistence to being included in the Hockeyroos for the first time as a 26 year old is an inspiring one.

Growing up in the Melbourne suburb of Heathmont before moving with her parents and older sister to South Yarra, Meg has endured the highs and lows of many elite and aspiring athletes.

Upon Meg’s selection into the 2021 national squad, Hockeyroos Coach Paul Gaudoin described her as an athletic defender with great mobility and closing speed who epitomises the values and behaviours expected of a Hockeyroo.

A product of the Victorian Institute of Sport, in 2017 Meg left Melbourne and headed north to continue her hockey in Brisbane. She was part of the Brisbane Blaze team that was crowned inaugural Sultana Bran Hockey One League Champions and has knocked on the door of the Hockeyroos squad for the past two years, travelling to Perth on Visiting Athlete Agreements.

A fitness freak who loves the game but even more the community that hockey provides, Meg now finds herself in the Hockeyroos squad for an Olympic year and she cannot wait to make the most of the ‘incredible opportunity’.

Meg took some time out from her marketing role with Ernst & Young to have a chat about her hockey journey and what it means to her to break into the Hockeyroos squad.

When did you first get into hockey and why did you start playing?

MP: “I think I was six and my dad played hockey. He stopped when mum had my sister who is four years older than me. My sister started playing, dad started playing again and then I started playing to. My sister was a really good hockey player – we played in the Under 21 Victorian state team together which was the best. My first club was Doncaster Hockey Club.”

How competitive would you say you are?

MP: “I think I’m the most competitive against myself. I don’t compare myself to other people which probably takes away from the competition, but I want to be better every day. I get frustrated if I don’t improve. Sometimes I think it’s easy to get caught up and focused on other people. No one has been through exactly what I’ve been through so there’s no point comparing myself to someone else if we have all had a different journey.

Ultimately, if I’m better every day and every session or in whatever I’m doing, then I’m going to be the best that I can be regardless of what other people are. If I am so good at what I can do within myself and I’m better, then hopefully it inspires others to be better.”

What was the best thing about hockey growing up?

MP: “I love how hockey is so family focused. Because it’s a smaller sport everyone knows everyone, so it really becomes a community. If hockey was soccer and it was all the same people I would still play it. It’s not necessarily hockey itself, it’s the community within hockey that is probably the main reason I play it.

I love being fit, I love being healthy, I love running until I make myself sick. Being able to push myself is probably what I thrive on and then the community behind it. It is a lot of hard work but you don’t think it’s hard work if you’re enjoying it.”

What other sports were you interested in growing up?

MP: “I did a bit of everything…tennis, athletics, I gave everything a crack. But because my dad and my sister were playing hockey, it became easier for us to go to the same place and then I found a really great group of friends playing hockey…and the rest is history. It also kept me out of mischief as I grew up.”

Having a father and an older sister who played, did they provide a lot of guidance or feedback as you progressed through the ranks?

MP: “My sister and I were at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) together. There were always competitions between the two of us in the gym about who could lift the most weights and we used to regularly get paired against each other so it was always a battle between the two of us.

When I think about my dad’s help, my parents’ philosophy is that you learn to stand on your own two feet. But if you ask for advice they’re willing to give it. Because dad understood hockey and knew the game, often after a game I would ask him what he thought. We would sit in the car and let it fog up because it’s Melbourne and it’s freezing, and we would draw little diagrams on the windscreen. I have always been a better visual learner.”

What were you up to when you found out you were in the squad?

MP: “I was working. Goodas (Paul Gaudoin) called and told me that I’d made it and I didn’t believe him. I didn’t tell anyone until except my dad until the official email went out because it didn’t seem real that I had been picked because I have been playing hockey for so long.”

What setbacks have you had to overcome to get to this point?

MP: “I started at VIS when I was 13. I suffered a lot of injuries between the ages of 18-22. I had 16 injuries in four years…broke my arm, broke my foot, had a growth on my ACL, broke my nose three times, broke my thumb. I went through a period where I barely trained and just played games.

This probably built my character and made me contemplate on why do I actually play hockey…because it’s fun, because I need someone else’s attention? Going through all of that made me realise that I play hockey because I love it and because it’s fun. I worked out that even if I was never going to play for Australia, I loved where I got to and what I was doing, so I think that’s why I’ve played for so long because I worked out that I’m not doing it for someone else, I’m doing it for myself and because I love it. That’s probably what got me through.”

Considering everything you’ve been through, what does it mean to you to now be able to say you are in the Hockeyroos squad?

MP: “I don’t think it has really sunk in and won’t sink in until I get to Perth. I look at it as a blessing and an opportunity. It’s awesome that I’ve got an opportunity to train and play at the next level. It’s really special and a privilege and an honour to train with the girls and if I get the opportunity to represent my country it will be a whole other thing. I’m just super grateful and can’t wait for the next chapter.”

It’s going to be an exciting chapter. You moved to Brisbane from Melbourne in 2017. Do you think it made an impact on your hockey?

MP: “Victoria and Queensland have different styles of playing and coaching. Each state has their own unique structure and style. In terms of where my body was at with injury, I think Bodders (Lee Bodimeade) gave me a lot of confidence to back myself and my ability. He’s a big believer in trying things and giving everything a crack and you will learn how far you can push the boundaries. For instance with the ball to advantage, you’ve got to try it a few times to work out how far is too far and how far is not far enough and I think that’s what I learnt coming to Queensland. It opened up another style of hockey for me and understanding of the game.”

Were there any sporting figures you admired growing up?

MP: “I really admire Stacia Strain (VIS Head Coach of the Women’s Hockey Program) because she taught me how important it is to be a good person and a good athlete. I really admire that about her and she drilled that into me from day dot.”

What were your expectations heading to the selection camp?

MP: “I don’t think I had any specific ones. I just went there and tried to make it fun because for me hockey is a confidence game. I think it was awesome starting in the quarantine house with nine of the other girls because it meant we really built relationships within the group.”

So it was like a Big Brother house?

MP: “Literally. I honestly thought it benefited us because when you come over on a Visiting Athlete Agreement you feel like an outsider. But because we were forced to hang out together and forced to socialise, it meant that we developed good relationships. And because we trained together we developed an understanding of where to pass the ball for that person, so I think it really strengthened the bond between everyone who did quarantine and also built the understanding between us when we trained.”

Would it be accurate to say that you think a lot about the technical and tactical side of the game?

MP: “I really like the tactical side of it and at the camp, Madonna Blyth was one of the coaches of our team with Katie Allen, and it was great listening to her because I think she’s the same as me. She’s very tactical in the way she thinks and being a few steps ahead.”

How would you describe yourself as a player and what are your greatest strengths?

MP: “I love providing good talk on the field and the communication side of it. I want to make the girls I’m playing alongside the best that they can be and I think it’s our role on the field to make the next person look good. If we are all making the next person look good then we’re going to play well. So if I’m communicating with people and setting people up in the right positions then it’s probably going to help us to be successful.”

Working four days a week and studying part time coupled with your hockey commitments, how do you balance it all?

MP: “It’s learning to be organised and structured. I really love what I do so I wouldn’t take anything away. It’s definitely a juggling act but it’s the enjoyment of the whole thing. Once I’ve finished one thing I think I’m quite good at managing to switch off and concentrate on the next thing.”

How excited are you about the year ahead?

MP: “Life is an adventure and you have to get on board. I think about it as a privilege and an honour…I look at it as an incredible opportunity so I’m excited to go across and stretch myself more and see how far I can go.”

What are your plans between now and relocating to Perth, and what are you getting up to for Christmas?

MP: “I’m flying to Melbourne on Saturday for Christmas because that’s where most of my family is and every year we have a themed Christmas party. This year is surf lifesaving nippers. Our family is massive, there are over 50 of us, so we don’t fit in a house. We’ll often hire out a hall or an oval.

This year we have hired out a surf lifesaving club and everything is themed. We do flags, we do all of the nippers games and everyone competes against each other and there are teams. We all have a themed meal so we’re having a barbeque with sausages and bread, chicken and salad rolls because that’s what you’d have at nippers. These festivities normally go for over half the day. Everyone gets fully into it. We have our second cousins come as well and everyone also brings friends along. We’ve been doing it for 10-15 years. Mum only announces the theme a month before so it’s always a surprise.”