Name: Justin Reid-Ross
Age: 23
Test Caps: 36
When did you make your Debut and how did it feel to represent your country for the 1st time?
I made my Debut at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Without sounding too clichéd, playing in the green and gold was a childhood dream, especially because my father and uncle had both represented SA at international level. The atmosphere and hype around the tournament made the moment even more special.
You are now in your second season in the Belgium league… How does playing overseas benefit you (Technically, Tactically, Training styles and ethics, growing as an individual both on and off the field? Etc.)
Playing my club hockey overseas has definitely turned my career around. The infrastructure is unbelievable and the level of hockey being played through the age groups is mind-blowing. I have been introduced to a number of new styles of hockey, through the influence of a Belgian and Australian coach.
Our team also has new tactics for every Championship match, regarding build-up play, pressing, positioning and team structure. This is all based on the analysis and preparation done by our coaching staff. This also changes according to whether we are playing a home or away game, if there are injuries within the squad, or the result of our previous encounter.
The training sessions are very structured:
Tuesday sessions are purely technical, which means 2 hours of pure basics – hitting, trapping, slapping, aerial skills, ball carrying and goal scoring.
Wednesday is an hour of high intensity physical work without stick, followed by mini-games(4v4, 5v5, 6v6, full teams) for an hour.
Friday is “selection training” and is all match related. This session includes all the tactics we’ll be using for Sunday’s game and focus on team structure and PC’s.
The training environment has taught me to be come much more versatile as a player and i’ve found myself playing in a variety of positions since joining the club.
How does the standard of hockey in Belgium compare to hockey in SA? (ie. Club, Provincial and National)
The hockey league in Belgium is a national league. That means that every age-group, from the minimum (u/10-11) to the open age groups compete in a structured league competition, against teams of the same level from across the country.
In each age group there will be several levels of competition and every year will result in teams being promoted and relegated. As you can imagine this ingrains a firm sense of competition in even the youngest of the competitive leagues.
Every weekend is a massive game with large numbers of spectators attending every game! The Men’s Championship is considered one of the best in Europe and the matches are fiercely contested every sunday, with as much drama as a Premiership football match!
The National level in Belgium is rapidly on the rise, with the Belgian u/18 national team having recently won the Euro Nations Cup for their age group, competing against the likes of Germany, Spain, Holland and England. The u/21 and senior national teams also had good performances at the Junior World Cup and Beijing Olympics respectively.
Can you tell us a bit about the African qualifier you attended? (such as the opposition, team dynamic, pressures, facilities, accommodation, qualifying)
The Africa Cup for Nations was an incredible experience.
The facilities in Accra were top class and the organisation of the tournament was handled to perfection. I think many African countries caught a bit of a wake up when they saw the quality organisation and infrastructure in one of world hockey’s smaller unions.
As a team we always felt like we would be leaving with the gold medal and the automatic qualification for the World Cup and our on-field performances echoed this feeling. The vibe within the squad has been at an all time high this year and everyone is buying into the new set of fundamental principles we have decided upon. This has also been reflected in our results as a national team.
Naturally the level of competition in Africa wasn’t particularly high, but the games against Egypt are always a completely different ball game. They came out firing in the final and when the game entered the last 10 minutes locked at 1-1, the true character of the squad came out. When we finally ended the game 3-1 victors, there was a sense of accomplishment within the team. It is a great achievement as a national team to have qualified for one of the biggest hockey competitions in the world.
If you could add any dimension to your game, what would it be?
I’d like to improve my “on the ball” skills, dribbling, changing direction and moving with the ball. As well as improving my balance between attacking play and controlling the ball.
Most memorable hockey moment?
Thats a tough one! Either scoring a goal on debut at Commonwealth Games or scoring the equaliser against World Champions Germany when we beat them in Randburg in 2007.
If you could change anything in South African hockey, what would it be?
I think the most important thing would be to implement a National League for the senior club or provincial teams. I realise that without major sponsors this is impossible but it is critical for the development of our sport at the top level.
Do you believe the current group of players in the National squad can break into the top 10 in world hockey and why?
I do. We have had a lot of good quality input from Mike Cooper and Tim Goodenough from “In The Zone” and we have set our goals as a team very high. Everyone realises the work and sacrifice that goes into being a top 10 international team and we have all bought into that.
The current squad of players all want the same thing for SA Hockey and I think people can see this in the way we have performed this year as a new group. We want to continue with these performances and results and get some big results in the major tournaments we have coming up.
Tell us about Justin-Reid Ross when he’s not playing hockey?
I am studying a degree in English language and literature through Unisa. At the moment being based in Belgium I do a lot of junior hockey coaching. Otherwise I like to spend my time reading and finding new bands and music I’ve never heard before. I also enjoy a good game of Koo and Der Ball.
Other interests?
Massive Manchester United fan! Any live music concerts I can get to and i’m currently (attempting) to learn to play guitar.
