Playing hockey gives me a chance to be myself

Despite playing hockey into her 20s, working full-time and starting a family made it impossible for Melissa to continue her with her favourite sport.

“It was really hard to juggle the commitments of family life, full-time work and any semblance of a social life,” she admits. However, as her children grew, Melissa found she had a little more time.

“In 2015, a friend who knew I used to play told me about a local Back To Hockey course,” she says.

As well as learning new rules and developing the skill of playing on AstroTurf, Melissa discovered that even hockey sticks had evolved during her time out of the sport.

“My stick must have been 25 years old, and so much heavier than the new ones,” she says.

As hockey is a very physical game, it also took Melissa some time to build her fitness up to the necessary level. “When I first started playing, I was relatively fit – but I ached everywhere,” she admits. “As well as improving my fitness, I’ve learned how important it is to warm up properly when you’re older.”

Hockey has also given Melissa – who has now transitioned to the Wimbledon Ladies 3rd team – the chance to step aside from her role as a mum for a few hours each week.

“It’s great not being responsible for anyone but myself when I’m there,” she says. “It’s also helped my children, James (16) and Anya (14), to see me as an individual.”

However, she did have to to juggle her two roles at the end of last season, when daughter Anya joined the team for one of the final games.

“A few matches were postponed, the season overran and some players were away. Anya plays hockey, so was able to play with our team.” Melissa Wilen (48)