Olympic hopes for hockey ace

'As a child I always had aspirations to go to the Olympics and represent my sport at the highest level, but not until recently did I realise that I wanted to do this as a full-time occupation for the foreseeable future'. So says Susie Gilbert, final year Geography student and women's Olympic hockey hopeful. Susie Gilbert in action The 23 year-old from Lichfield has a place on both the England and GB women hockey squads, and is part of the centralised training programme based at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre where the women's team train together four times a week. 'It is such an opportunity to do something I enjoy and am passionate about on a daily basis, and what makes it better is I get to train with my friends every day.' The training has to be balanced with her University studies and her commitment to Birmingham's women's hockey team. This involved a lot of travelling back and forth up the M40, but Susie reveals her secret to managing her hectic schedule. 'It's getting the balance right, you have to be disciplined with your time and making sure I don't do too much hockey or too much Uni work, and making sure I have time to relax because otherwise it can get a bit too much.' So how does someone with so little free time relax? 'I chill out by seeing my friends, going shopping, going to the cinema, having a girlie evening and painting our nails, or doing a bit of pottery painting. I do that quite a lot at the moment! I went with my friends for my birthday earlier in the year and now we have been a few times to have a cup of tea and a chat.