Shelley Russell, or Shells Bells as she is known to her thousands of followers on social media, is a South African icon.
With more than 200 caps to her name, the athletic midfielder is one of the best known sports women in South Africa. This week she is taking part in the African Hockey Championships.
While that fixture is now very much at the forefront of the 28-year-old’s mind, she has spent much of the year spearheading an initiative to raise the level of aspiration and performance among female hockey players.
“I feel that it is important to be out there, taking part in outdoor exercise, from a health and general well-being perspective,” says the double Olympian. “There are so many life lessons to be learned from the discipline of sport, especially fitting into a team dynamic. If we can instil love for sport within the youth, that would be a first prize.”
Russell was speaking at the launch of the Investec Hockey Academy, a country-wide training initiative aimed at improving the performance of female hockey players. The scheme involves former and current players sharing their knowledge, expertise and passion for the game through a series of camps run across South Africa.
So far, four camps have taken place, one in Stellenbosch, two in Johannesburg and the most recent camp in Durban, where pupils from 15 schools joined together to improve their hockey skills and gain inspiration from the coaching team of international hockey stars.
When not playing hockey, Russell is a sports scientist, as well as a coach, and she will be bringing all her knowledge to the table when it comes to the Academy.
“The courses we offer work on creating well-rounded athletes,” she says. “Very important aspects such as mental toughness, functional ability, vision training, fitness, nutrition, recovery techniques and athlete education in general are addressed at the academy.”
Russell is just one of a number of hockey stars who are all bringing a high level of professionalism to coaching academies and clinics across the globe.
Tom Boon, the Belgium men’s sharp-shooting forward has lent his name and his coaching ability to Tom Boon’s Hockey Camps, where he is joined by sister Jill – also an international player – and other members of the men’s and women’s national squads.
Meanwhile, in Argentina, Campus Lucha, the coaching clinic run by hockey legend and eight times FIH Player of the Year Luciana Aymar, is proving a huge draw to youngsters.
Aymar, who is arguably the best known female hockey player on the planet, may have retired from international duty, but her cache as an inspiration remains undiminished.
Also drawing on his star-player status is Australia’s Jamie Dwyer. Like Aymar, Dwyer has picked up the FIH Player of the Year award on multiple occasions and is considered as one of the best players of all time.
The Jamie Dwyer Hockey Academy attracts young players from all over Australia, and Dwyer is always on hand to lead the coaching sessions.
Russell, and the other hockey players turned coaches, are at the forefront of a move to bring a high level of professionalism to the coaching arena. But what they also bring is something equally important, star quality.
For a young player who sees his or her hero on the pitch, doing the skills and running the session – well what could be more inspirational than that?
For more information on the Investec Hockey Academy, click here.
