Samantha Harrison

Samantha Harrison

Samantha Harrison, July 2009
Personal information
Born29 August 1991
Whangarei, New Zealand
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight60kg
Playing positionForward / Midfield
Club information
Current clubSouthern Districts Hockey Club
(Papatoetoe, Auckland)[2]
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
?–presentAuckland Fury
National team
2009–presentNew Zealand93(17)
Infobox last updated on: 16 August 2012 (national)[3][4]

Samantha (Sam) Harrison (born 29 August 1991)[5] is a New Zealand field hockey player. She has competed for the New Zealand women's national field hockey team (the Black Sticks Women), including for the team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1]

Harrison was first selected for the Black Sticks Women in June 2009, along with ten other players as the Black Sticks squad was overhauled following its last place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,[6] joining her older sister Charlotte, who had been in the team since October 2005. She played her first official match for the Black Sticks on 3 July 2009, against Argentina in her hometown of Whangarei, as part of a series of games against Argentina and China.[5]

Born in Whangarei to Steve and Zanna Harrison,[7] Samantha is the second of three sisters, between Charlotte and younger sister Anita.[8] Samantha attended Whangarei Girls' High School[9] before moving to Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland in Year 11 (Form 5).[8][10] As of August 2012, Harrison is studying psychology at the Auckland University of Technology on Auckland's North Shore.[8]

Despite Samantha being two years younger and three centimetres (1 in) taller than her sister Charlotte, once the two competed together for the Black Sticks, their similarities in appearance became apparent and were often mistaken for each other by comentators and match officials.[8] In mid-2010, Samantha dyed her hair brown to help alleviate the problem,[11] but within a year had reverted to her natural blonde colour.

At club level, Harrison is a member of the Southern Districts Hockey Club, based in Papatoetoe, Auckland.[12] In the National Hockey League, she is a member of the Auckland Fury women's team.[5][8]

In November 2012, Harrison was demoted from the Black Sticks national squad to the development squad for the 2013 year, after national coach Mark Hager felt she was suffering from burnout.[13] At the time, Harrison spent three months in Cambridge, England, coaching hockey at The Leys School.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Samantha Harrison - London 2012 Olympics". Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Lee, Julian (14 July 2012). "Olympics: Hockey club churning out stars". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "New Zealand Hockey Representatives - Women" (PDF). Hockey New Zealand. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "New Zealand Goal Scorers - Women" (PDF). Hockey New Zealand. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Sam Harrison - Hockey New Zealand". Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Fresh new talent defines the 2009 Black Sticks women's national squad". Hockey New Zealand. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "2011 Sport yearender - New Zealand sport - Page 19". Fairfax Media (via Stuff.co.nz). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "You can just call us Harrisons". The Dominion Post (via Stuff.co.nz). 12 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Thorley, Peter (8 May 2006). "HOCKEY - Hikurangi clinch their first win". The Northern Advocate. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  10. ↑ Maddaford, Terry (15 February 2012). "College sport: World-class hockey pitches at Diocesan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "Harrison sisters key to Black Sticks hopes". 3 News. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Lee, Julian (14 July 2012). "Olympics: Hockey club churning out stars". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Brown, Michael (22 November 2012). "Hockey: Sam Harrison left out of Black Sticks squad". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "England give Albery leading role in Tests". Cambridge News. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.