adminBrighton Zhawi
MOMENTS after a surreal goodbye from international hockey, Nicola Watson had another cause for cheer as she toasted her son’s fourth birthday.
Watson (38) retired last weekend at the conclusion of the 2020 Olympic Games qualifying tournament in South Africa after making her debut in Malaysia in 1998. Her farewell, after 21 years in the game, was dreamlike. The centre midfielder hung up her boots and stick as the Joint Player of the Tournament and Zimbabwe’s scorer of two goals. That feat earned her team a bronze medal after a 3-2 victory over Namibia.
“I didn’t expect it to end so well for me.
“I was mainly focused on us playing well as a team and finishing with a win.
“Obviously I wanted to play the best hockey for my last game, so to score two goals was great,” said Watson.
“I knew it was my last tournament but I hadn’t really thought about it until the last day when we were getting ready to play against Namibia.
“Our captain (Mary Campbell) gave us an amazing pre-game talk and thanked me for all I had done. That is when it really hit home. I felt it was my time and was ready to play my last game for my country. l gave it everything I had.” A day after her swansong, Watson was singing ‘happy birthday’.
“I have two boys, Jake is five and Patrick turned four on Monday.
“It was just a birthday tea, but we had to celebrate it on the Tuesday as I only got back late on Monday night.
“A friend came to my rescue on Tuesday morning as I hadn’t organised a cake and had no power to make one. But everything turned out fine and he had a lovely day.”
Balancing motherhood and sport can be a challenge, but not so for Nicola, who even runs an academy in Bulawayo.
“It was just waking up and getting the kids ready for school, then fitting in a training session in the morning after drop off.
“My kids are still young and at nursery school, so I collect them at 11:30am. l have to be there for them for the rest of the day.
“When l was still playing, I would have training sessions in the evening with my mother looking after the kids as my husband has been away on business for the last three months,’’ Watson said.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my career. I am excited to give back to hockey as much as I can so that other players may have the opportunity that I had.
“I will still continue to play club hockey (for Ivy’s Hockey Club) and coach, but I look forward to spending more time with my children.
“I run my own Playball Franchise in Bulawayo. We coach ball skills to kids from the age of two to seven years.
“I also help with the Matabeleland Hockey Board development clinic.”
Watson is optimistic about the future of Zimbabwe’s women outdoor hockey.
“I was so impressed with the way our team played. We had a lot of young players and they proved their worth.
“Zimbabwe doesn’t get to play many internationals, so winning bronze was a huge achievement.
“We had eight Under-21 players and five of those are still in school.
“If this team can get more exposure in the next year or so and continue to work hard, then Zimbabwe has a bright future,” said Watson.
Online Reporter