Hockeyroos star Jade Warrender has announced that she has decided to leave the Australian Institute of Sport’s High Performance Program for Hockey.
The 21 year old defender informed Hockeyroos’ management and teammates of her decision to leave the centralised training program in Perth following a period of personal reflection and discussions with coaching staff.
Explaining her decision, she said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time with the girls. This has been a very difficult personal decision to make but I feel like I need to take a break to refresh and re-evaluate and to rediscover my passion for hockey.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the staff at the AIS for assisting me in every way possible during my time here. I am incredibly grateful for the time and energy they have put into developing me as a player and supporting my return from my knee reconstruction.”
Jade, from Orange, New South Wales, has battled to recover from a series of injuries including two knee reconstructions, the second of which ruled her out of contention for the London Olympic Games in 2012. More recently, in June, she was replaced in the squad on the eve of the World League in London after tearing her hamstring in the build-up to the tournament that the Hockeyroos went on to win.
Hockeyroos Head Coach Adam Commens said: “Jade is an extremely talented athlete who has made an excellent contribution to the Hockeyroos, particularly over the last 18 months. While it’s disappointing that she has had to battle with injuries over two of the last three and a half years it’s understandable that under such circumstances these events take their toll. Hopefully a break at this time will help Jade regain her passion for the game and allow her to try to re-establish herself as an influential Hockeyroo sometime in the future.”
The full story can be found on the Hockey Australia website by clicking here.
Source material: Hockey Australia media release
