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Hume-an nature
Jan-Christian Sorensen jsorensen@nsnews.com
FORMER Collingwood Cavalier and UBC Thunderbirds field hockey fixture Stephanie Hume will represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games this summer in Manchester, U.K.
Hume is the only local player appointed to a 16-player national squad that is thick with B.C. athletes. Joining her will be Vancouver's Julia Wong, Lisa Faust, Stephanie Jameson; Duncan's Aoibhinn Grimes, Meggan Hunt and Jenny Johnson; Victoria's Andrea Rushton; Richmond's Kreisten Taunton; and Delta's Kelly Rexansoff. Head coach Butch Worth hails from Vancouver, as does manager Kathryn Duff.
The Commonwealth Games take place from July 25 to Aug. 4. Following the national field hockey championship July 3-7 in Ontario, the team will train in London for 10 days before hopping the pond for the international event.
Hume's former coach at UBC, Hash Kanjee, said she's a perfect fit for the national team.
Hume had a breakout year for Kanjee and the UBC women's field hockey team last season - her fifth and final campaign with the squad. She captained the team to a 14-0-2 undefeated record and a four-game sweep of the Canada West conference championships en route to the national championship crown - UBC's third in the past four years. She also grabbed Canada West, All-Canadian and Tournament 11 all-star berths along the way.
It was a big comeback year for Hume, who was out for most of the previous season with a hand injury. The team also parted ways with most of the starting 11 players, which gave Hume - and fellow North Shore players O'Connor, Jenn Tait and Sarah Saddler - a chance to truly show what they were made of.
"We've had a fairly decent group of athletes come through in the last few years. My sense was she was overshadowed by some players, but when we lost our starters it gave people like Steph a chance to blossom and take a leadership role."
Kanjee said Hume truly came into her own when he chose to move her from the striker to midfield position.
"She played absolutely brilliantly. The first couple of games I thought 'Why didn't I do this before? Midfielders are your workhorses. They're the people that make things happen and she just fit into that position. All of a sudden from a team that was going to be in a rebuilding year we did really well, and a lot of that credit goes to Steph.
"On the field her work rate was phenomenal. She was somebody that was going full-out the whole time that she was out there. Her skills improved to the point where she was actually causing all our opposition a lot of concern. She's shown a lot of spark and I think that is what got her onto the national team squad.
"I saw a huge development in this last year and I think she's at the beginning of something and I don't know how far this can go. Once she gets a chance to go to the Commonwealth Games and test her skills against some of the best players in the world, my sense is that she's going to learn from that and improve. She's only 21. Your best international players are between the ages of 26 and 32, so she's got a few years. If she shows the continued learning that she's shown this last year, the sky's the limit."
Hume said she was surprised to find herself a part of the national side.
"I'm very excited. It's kind of a bit of a shock to me. It's been a crazy year," she said. "If someone had said a year ago that I was going to the Commonwealth Games I wouldn't have believed them. I just wasn't there a year ago."
Hume, who said that the national side will have its work cut out squaring off in a pool with India, New Zealand and England, isn't quite sure what to expect when she makes the trek to England.
"I've never even played in an international game before, so for me, being in the Games is going to be the first time I put on a Canadian jersey. We'd like to get top six but we're in a tough pool. England and New Zealand are very tough."
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