SERVING HOCKEY DEVELOPMENT WITH PASSION

BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS

LYNN ABRAHAMSE is not just a former hockey player who loves the sport. The long-term coach and team manager is immersed in its development and has been serving the sport with dedication for more than two decades.

HER PASSION AND DEDICATION have seen Abrahamse, an academic coach and coordinator at the Centre for Student Support Services in the offi ce for Academic Support, managing teams at local, provincial and national levels. In July, she was appointed the Senior Women’s Hockey team manager for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from 29 July to 8 August.

The married mother of two says: “I am passionate about hockey and I’m also really blessed to coach the UWC ladies’ hockey second team. In addition, I serve as the secretary of both the Western Province Girls Hockey Committee and the South African Schools Hockey Association.” >

“My aunt, Florence Kotze, was a big inspiration in getting me involved with hockey,” says Abrahamse. “She bought me my first hockey stick at the age of 10. That’s where my love of the sport began. I credit my mentor, Wendy Horn, with getting me involved with hockey management. She roped me into managing provincial school teams. I have been really fortunate to have strong female role models such as those within the sport, who have inspired me to pursue my hockey goals.”

HER CAREER in hockey management started in 2000 when she managed her first Under-14 Western Province team. Since then, she has managed Western Province Girls Schools, Under-21 and senior provincial teams. In 2016 and 2018, she managed the South African Under-18 Girls team that played a series against an Australian schools team. In 2019, she was appointed as the team manager for the SA Under-21 Ladies in the cycle leading to the Women’s Junior World Cup, which took place in Potchefstroom earlier this year. SA Under-21 Ladies head coach Lenise Marais described her as “a pillar of strength and support” at the time. “I think the travelling aspect of any tour always brings something humorous,” says Abrahamse. “From buses breaking down in the middle of nowhere, to flights nearly missed and relying on the kindness of strangers to help out – there is usually something interesting that happens. I have many fond memories of fun final tour nights and hours and hours of laughter when we have a chance for some downtime.

“My Commonwealth Games experience was phenomenal. Getting to work with a national team in a high performance environment really was a dream come true. There is something special about South Africa and about being part of Team South Africa. There is a ‘gees’ that you just cannot find anywhere else.

“From the opening ceremony to all the matches, and even meeting some royalty in person, the Games were really something special. Most of all, it was a chance to connect on a human level with my teammates and expand my ‘hockey family’.”

HER DREAM is to continue her involvement with the senior team, as they work towards the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Abrahamse is excited about the growth of women’s hockey in South Africa, which has seen participation numbers and public interest rise across school, club and senior national levels. The hockey community now offers opportunities for many adults to stay fit and make social connections within the sport, and to remain part of hockey well into their retirement years.

I would love to see hockey becoming a professional sport so that the players and staff who represent their country can do so on a full-time basis.

“I WOULD LOVE TO SEE hockey becoming a professional sport so that the players and staff who represent their country can do so on a full-time basis. We can see improved performances on the world stage, because we could then run centralised training programmes, as is the case with other sporting codes,” says Abrahamse. B+G