Laura Barden joins the Australian Hockeyroos squad in the lead up to Tokyo 2020

Sometimes it’s all about timing, and Monash’s Laura Barden looks to have peaked at just the right time, having been selected for the 2020 Australian Hockeyroos squad last month just as the build up to Tokyo 2020 heads into its final stages.

The 25 year old Master of Nursing student spent two years with the squad in 2016/17, but has since been working to earn back a coveted spot team.

Her selection came after a successful season as a midfielder with runner-up team Hockey Club Melbourne in the inaugural eight week Hockey One competition.

Laura said she knew selectors would be watching these matches, and she was determined to impress. 

“I was very happy with how I was playing but I also knew at the end of the day, it’s quite tough to come back when you’ve been unselected,” she said.

“And also often teams might not change that much before an Olympic year, because you want to keep things consistent and just keep the same team because it’s a building process.

“So I was very hopeful and I dreamed of it but I didn’t actually think it was going to happen.”

The 27 selected players, all of whom aside from Laura were already a member of the 2019 National Development squad, will now spend the next 7-8 months in the lead up to the Olympics competing and training together in Perth, before the final team of 18 are selected for Tokyo.

The Hockeyroos are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams and are currently ranked second behind the Netherlands in FIH Women’s World Rankings.  

Laura, who began playing Hockey when she was seven, said her focus in Perth will be on improving her speed and injury prevention. Last time Laura was in the squad she was injured for a few months, and said this likely contributed to her deselection from the team. 

“I definitely want to focus on everything outside of training like doing the extra stretching, going to see a physio or osteo, massages, ice baths…,” she said.

“I want to also find a job on the side, but you do have to dedicate a lot of time to making the best athlete of yourself… you don’t want to compromise any kind of recovery.”

Well done Laura, we are so glad all your hard work is paying off and we look forward to seeing you smash it in Perth over the next few months!

Written by Nell O’Shea Carre, Media Coordinator.