Kayla Whitelock: Turf passes test

HBT140870-09.JPG New Zealand team captain Kayla Whitelock pictured during the Civic Welcome Reception for the International Hockey Teams and Officials for the festival of Hockey held at Sileni Estate

Black Sticks captain Kayla Whitelock is writing exclusively for Hawke's Bay Today during the nine-day Hawke's Bay Festival of Hockey to provide readers with an inside view of the world-class event.

by Kayla Whitelock

New turf is usually quite bumpy but this was pretty good all round. All talk is of the new turf at the sports park. So far it's impressive.

During our warm-up match against Japan on Thursday, we had the chance to give it a thorough test. New turf is usually quite bumpy but this was pretty good all round. It played a little bit slow but once you get a few more people on it, it's only going to play quicker.

Beating Japan 6-1 was a boost. Not just because we scored goals but because we held possession and conceded only the one goal. Defence is a huge thing for us.

Today's game against Korea is our first of the tournament and is going to be tough. They're ranked seventh in the world and beat us in the last two games we've met.

From where we're sitting, Korea's strength is their attackers up front. They pass the ball quickly and create loads of goal-scoring opportunities. Our aim is to get in behind them when their strikers get a bit lazy.

Today's forecast isn't looking too promising. But unlike rugby, where rain is regarded as the great leveller, moisture on these new turfs doesn't affect the game too much. Not unless it's flooded where you end up doing very little dribbling and playing more with the ball in the air.

I'm often asked how I prepare before a big game. Well, 60 minutes out we have our final fuel "top up". This is usually a banana or a tin of creamed rice. I then listen to music, often Shapeshifter or Six60.

Then collectively we have a team huddle and warm-up - then we're into it. Here's hoping the beautiful weather decides to hang around for our first game.

# Kayla Whitelock is captain of the Black Sticks women.