Hockey all about the fun for former Hockeyroo Fiona Ryan

Ask former Hockeyroo and mother Fiona Ryan (nee Boyce) why she loves and continues to play hockey and the answer is simple, “because it’s fun”.

The 33 year old was part of the recently released women’s hockey promotional video encouraging women to ‘stick with hockey’. Visit the Club Finder to discover your local hockey club.

The Commonwealth Games gold medallist and 2012 Olympian, who made over 100 appearances for the Hockeyroos between 2009-2013, remains actively involved in the game at University of WA (UWA) Hockey Club.

Last year she played and co-coached UWA’s first division team, regularly coming up against teams featuring current Hockeyroos.

Fiona’s story is a remarkable one. Forced into retirement from the Hockeyroos at the age of 25 just before being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and subsequently undergoing chemotherapy, Fiona is now healthy, well and living a hectic and fulfilling life.

A proud mother of two with her eldest child about to start full time school, Fiona juggles a busy work, life schedule. With a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice under her belt, Fiona is the Chief Operating Officer at Fivemark Partners, a boutique strategic, corporate financial and equity market adviser.

She is also in the process of starting up a performance and mindset consulting business venture called Kōfuku Consulting targeted at high school students and athletes. Fiona is devising a six week program to assist teenagers and elite athletes to deal with high pressure situations and the expectations and stresses of life, something she is passionate about based on her own experiences.

With so much on her plate as she balances family, work and life, Fiona is a glowing example of hockey being such an important, valuable and enjoyable outlet from the daily grind.

Fiona kindly took some time out for a Q&A to outline the benefits of sticking with hockey and the importance of women and mothers taking time during the week to put themselves first…and hockey is the perfect tonic.

How do you balance two kids, a professional career and manage to find time to play hockey?

Fiona Ryan (FR): “Hockey is a really good outlet for me. Like the ad showed, when your identity can easily become that ‘mum life at home’ and always ‘give give give’, hockey has allowed me to have that time to myself and to spend more time with my mates. Exercising, having fun, socialising…it ticks a lot of boxes so it’s really important.”

How do you juggle it to make sure you have that time aside?

FR: “Being involved with a hockey club, you need to be available at set times twice a week and for a game on the weekend, so you have to be on time and it forces you to have that time away from everything else. Even now while hockey isn’t on, I still set that time aside to go and do yoga or go walking with a friend.”

What is it that you love most about hockey and being involved?

FR: “To be honest, it’s just having fun. I love the excitement and adrenalin rush of going to a game and playing with your friends. We’ve got a really social club so we’re always having a laugh… it’s all about the fun. The exercise component coupled with the social side of it is really beneficial for your mental and physical health and keeping your fitness up. But the reason I went back to hockey after kids is because it is really fun and a way to stay connected with my friends.”

What would you say to other mothers or women who are contemplating getting back into hockey?

FR: “I would say just do it, sign up and the logistics will work themselves out when they need to. I think for a lot of mothers the commitment of putting themselves first for that one or two times a week can be quite overwhelming logistically, and as a mother you’re not really used to doing that. It can feel a bit strange but the benefits it provides are numerous, not only from a physical and mental health point of view individually, but also for your family because you come back refreshed, energised and really wanting to spend time with them because you have missed them during your time at hockey.”

Do you find there is added strain on your body as you get older?

FR: “To be honest, I do feel it! If I did a couple of gym sessions every week I would feel it a lot less, but in saying that, I went back and played first division which is a lot more fast faced and demanding on the body than other grades and I really tried to get my fitness back as much as I could so I ran a fair bit.

If I was playing at a more social level, I don’t think I’d feel sore after games. For most women returning to the sport, after the initial soreness of getting back into any physical activity, I don’t think that they need to be worried about it taking a toll on their body.

I was mainly a midfielder or a defender when I was playing for the Hockeyroos, whereas now I play as a high striker and I feel like it’s a really fun position because you can have fun against defenders, be a bit cheeky and try and intercept and score goals, so it’s a lot of fun these days.”

How much did you enjoy being part of the ad?

FR: “We had a great time. I agreed to be involved to help out a teammate and friend, Shayni Nelson, who was the star of the ad. We all had a laugh and had a great time. In between filming we mucked around and had a hit so it was great to be involved. It was a lot of fun.”