Women’s Field Hockey Team Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh On Fitness, Diet and Olympics

Kate Richardson-Walsh is an Olympic Gold and Bronze Medal winning English field hockey player. She was capped a record 375 times for her country and was the England and Great Britain Captain for 13 years.

She became the most capped female in Great Britain on Saturday 20 February 2016 during test matches in Australia when she overtook Karen Brown who had 355 caps.

In 2016 Richardson-Walsh captained the women’s field hockey team to their first gold medal at an Olympics. The team were undefeated throughout the tournament, beating The Netherlands in the final on penalties. Kate Richardson-Walsh was selected to be the Team GB flag bearer at the closing ceremony for the Rio Olympics.

After 375 appearances for her country, 19 medals, 49 goals and 13 years as GB and England Captain, Richardson-Walsh confirmed her retirement from International hockey after the Rio Olympic Games.

Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness catches up with Kate Richardson-Walsh on her spectacular sports journey and fitness tips.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

You have had an incredible sports career as a field hockey player winning an Olympic Gold and Bronze Medal & so much more. In 2016, you also became the first hockey player to be shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Walk us through your spectacular journey and tell us how it all began?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

It has been an incredible 17 year international career filled with many highs and lows. I started hockey relatively late, aged 11, during my PE lessons at my local comprehensive school in Stockport. Having done gymnastics and then swimming competitively for a club, I found being part of a team absolutely compelling. I love that you can bring a diverse group of people together, with as many differences as possible, to travel together with the sole purpose of winning a game or tournament. I think being part of so many different teams over the years has given me a great social education for life and an ability to understand and embrace difference. I have been very fortunate to have been a part of national teams that have won 17 medals over my hockey career. I have had the honor of captaining my country for 13 of those years. The thing I will always cherish the most though are my teammates and the times we shared together.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Introduce us to a day in the life of a field hockey player, preparing for the Olympic Games.

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

As a sport we were very lucky to have an increase in funding in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. This ensured we were able to make some huge changes to the way we trained and prepared for tournaments as a group. It is thanks to UK Sport, the National Lottery and everyone that plays it that we were able to fulfill our dreams and stand on the podium twice at an Olympic Games. British hockey has been running a full-time centralised programme since 2009. The whole squad of 28 or 31 players, either lives close by or commutes to Bisham Abbey, our training base. We train physically twice a day, most days. The majority of the players also represent a club team which entails training one night a week and playing a club match at the weekend. The full-time programme most importantly gives us time to utilise the support services on a regular basis such as pyschology, strength and conditioning, nutrition, physiotherapy and video analysis. The time we spend together as a squad really binds us together and we can formulate our culture.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

As a British squad training towards the Olympics we would have five hockey sessions together on the field every week. Three of these sessions would be high intensity game like situations or practices. The other two would be lower intensity and focus on set pieces and more technical hockey work. As a group we would have three strength and conditioning sessions to complete as well. The S&C work was individualized and depending on our physical needs and the specific training period we were in as a group. All of these sessions required a thorough warm up and again this altered depending on the content of the session. One week out of four would be a purely physical training week with no hockey commitments. This week would have three or four running sessions and three gym based sessions.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

As with everyone we are encouraged to understand our individual body. We are all different and we all require slightly different nutritional needs to make sure we can train and play to our optimum. Due to our heavy training load and the intensity of our tournaments we had a massive focus on recovery nutrition. Each of us had an individual recovery strategy which ensured we took on the right amounts of carbohydrate, protein and nutrients post workout. On the whole it was a case of eating a healthy well balanced diet. Fitness testing and body composition measurements helped us plan with the nutritionist and S&C coach what we needed to focus on nutritionally for each phase of training.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Training for professional sports requires you to be out in the extreme weather. How are you able to take care of your skin and hair?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

As we train and play hockey outside all year round we do become hardy souls! It’s important to protect your skin though and I would wear Bobbi Brown moisturizer every day which contains SPF. I would also wear specific face sunscreen which had a higher factor SPF when the sun was out or we were playing abroad. I would always need to ensure I put the creams on well in advance of training so I didn’t sweat or rub it off immediately! My hair has dealt with a lot! I have dyed it every color under the sun and has been half way down my back and cropped short! I change shampoo and conditioner on a regular basis, depending on what is on offer at the supermarket! I love my Tangle Teezer which ensures my masses of thin hair doesn’t break with all the showering and washing.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Who has been your greatest influence and motivator in your success in the field of your career?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

I think my family are a huge source of influence and inspiration. My sister and I both played hockey for our country and I think this is due in large part to the support and grounding that my family gave us. Our family never pushed us into hockey but they taught us that decisions that we made had a knock on effect to our ambitions and journey. I learnt from an early age that in order to be the best I could be at whatever I decided to do it would be about working hard and making good choices and not sacrifices. My parents also taught me to make the best of any situation with which I was faced, I think this has helped me be resilient through the inevitable ups and downs of my hockey career and life.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

You became the most capped female in Great Britain in February 2016 during test matches in Australia with a record 375 times. How did you feel after giving such breakthrough performances and receiving this honor?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

It was an incredible honor to become Great Britain’s most capped female player. Our assistant coach, Karen Brown, had been holding the record for some time and it was great to have her there supporting me on the day. It was an interesting time for me personally. I wasn’t in a great vein of form at the time and my position in the team was a little unstable. I look back at receiving this accolade with bitter sweet memories. I had known the milestone was around the corner for some time and it felt like it was weighing me down a little. Some wise words from my wife Helen helped me relax and focus on being the best version of me by focusing on my strengths. She said ‘let the form come to you’. Sure enough it did and some of the emotion that came out on top of the podium in Rio was because I had come through this just months earlier.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar:

In 2016, you captained the women’s field hockey team to their first gold medal at the Rio Olympics. Tell us about one of the most memorable experience that you may have had at the Olympics.

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

Being selected for an Olympic Games is a very special honor. In the hockey squad the entire group give all of themselves, selflessly in the pursuit of making the selected team be the very best it can possibly be. This is teamwork at it’s very best. So for me, the most memorable part of an Olympic Games is what comes before! Pulling 31 young women together towards our joint vision to, “Be the difference, Create History, and Inspire the Future” regardless of whether or not each of us an individual would prosper shows ultimate respect and trust. Every single member of our squad was important. Every person in our group had worth and value. Every player and every member of staff contributed to that Gold medal winning moment in Rio. It is this culture and being a member of this squad that I am most proud of.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding hockey players who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in this field?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

I would say to all budding hockey players, find your strengths and make them your super strengths. Each of us is different. Some of us our super quick. Other players have fast hands. The great thing about hockey is there is a position and a team for everyone. You can add something positive and bring your strengths to any game. Be you, be the best of you. Whilst you must always work on all aspects of your game. All you can ever do on any given day is work hard and be the best you can. When I was younger I was desperate to be a fast, ‘skillful’, goal providing midfield player. Actually I was best suited to the centre of defence where I could read the game, organise structure and try to stop the opposition from scoring! Once I accepted this as my role and what I could bring to this position I really started to flourish and gain confidence.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?

Ms. Kate Richardson-Walsh:

There are so many amazing ways to be fit and maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle. Using websites such as Womenfitness.net means we can now share ideas and stay motivated on our fitness journeys. Having recently retired from international hockey I will be using sites like Womenfitness.net for nutrition, fitness and lifestyle advice. Whatever my new goals are in life being physically and mentally healthy will most definitely help me reach my destination in a happy, positive way.

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