(Field-Hockey) Dreams Do Come True

It has been close to 16 years since she last played with the Outaouais Field Hockey Club, but Laura Branchaud still remembers how she was welcomed each time she returned.

“Anytime I was in Ottawa and came back to the Club, it was like I never left,” says Branchaud, from her home in Nova Scotia. “I would be home from university for the summers, and I would always go back and play, and people would ask how I was doing and what I was up to….it was always relaxed and friendly.”

While preparing for her interview on the Club’s 50th Anniversary, Branchaud realized that she started with the Club in 1973, a mere two years after it was founded. Branchaud was attending D’Arcy McGee High School in Gatineau, Quebec, where she played almost every sport going including volleyball, basketball, badminton, javelin, and track. She caught the attention of some of the school’s field-hockey coaches, including Heather Bennett, who were also members of the Club.

“I think that they saw this young girl with so much energy who wanted to try anything and so they suggested why “don’t you come out and play with the Club,” recalls Branchaud. “I was 13 at the time and I remember the next youngest player was Carolyn Broadhurst.”

In 1977, during her last year of high school, Branchaud was encouraged by her Phys. ed teacher to attend the Quebec Junior Provincial Team try-outs being held over three days in Montreal. As much as she wanted to go, the then 17-year-old Branchaud knew that she would not be able to swing it financially.

“The school found the funding to send me to the Under-19 Team trials…and I was selected.”

Branchaud enjoyed her time playing field hockey for Quebec and remembers playing in a field that stood in the shadow of the Montreal Olympic Stadium. Branchaud was not selected to play in the Canada Games in 1977 because she was too young, and it got her thinking about playing at the national level.

“I thought wow, that’s what I want to do, play for Canada in the Olympics,” she remembers. “It was funny because at the time, women’s field-hockey wasn’t even in the Olympics.” (It was added in the Summer of 1980).

Branchaud was invited to a selection training camp for Canada’s National Team squad and worked “my butt off”. This was the start of a 30-year field-hockey career in which she won medals, titles, and championships as an elite player as well as two stints as a field-hockey coach for the Carleton University Ravens.

Branchaud, who always sets challenges for herself and strives to learn something new every day, realized her dream of representing Canada in the Olympics as a field-hockey player, not once, but twice!

“I think that the highlight in ’84 were the Opening Ceremonies…. when I was walking through the tunnel and they announced Canada and the place just erupted….because it was in Los Angeles there were lots of Canadians in the crowd,” says Branchaud, adding that they beat Australia and New Zealand, tied Holland but lost to Germany and the US. “I was looking at some of the old photos of faces in the crowd and I don’t remember my feet even touching the track as we walked around….I remember bits and pieces of the games.”

In Seoul, there were 8 teams with two pools, and Canada, says Branchaud, was in the harder of the two with the 4 top teams. Canada finished 6th overall.

Another career highlight for Branchaud was playing in the 1986 World Cup in Amsterdam:

“We beat the Dutch on their home soil in front of a Dutch crowd so that was really exciting,” she says.

Branchaud attended York University (class of 1986) where, according to their website, she helped the field-hockey team reach the CIAU national tournament four times between 1979 and 1984. The team also won two silver medals in 1980 and 1981 while Branchaud was a member. She was inducted into the York University Hall of Fame in 2010

During her time with York, her coach had some concerns that she was not being exposed to the high caliber play needed to maintain her competitive edge during the summer months. She found it at the Outaouais Club and says she owes its members much “gratitude.”

“It was decided that me and Terry Wheatley-McGee would benefit playing for the Outaouais men’s side and we had to get permission, agreement from the other men’s teams in the league. which we did,” says Branchaud.

Branchaud, who described herself as a student of the game, knows that she was very fortunate to learn from some of the most experienced and knowledgeable players in the Club. She also remembers that everyone was so helpful and giving of their time and expertise.

“One of my best memories was Beryl (Newton) rolling field hockey balls at me…she took the time to teach me so that I could do that, pick up a ball on the run.”

She also counts sessions of practicing with Club members, Reggie Plumber, former Olympian and inductee of the Canada Field Hockey Hall of Fame, and Hari Kant, who played goalie for the Men’s Junior National Team at the time, as invaluable.

“He and I would go to the Nepean Sportsplex and ask if we could use the Astro Turf as nobody was on it and it was so great to have a male goalie to practice with and to have that assistance from the Club.”

When asked if she would like to get back to playing field-hockey, Branchaud jokes that it has been so long that she “wouldn’t even recognize the game today" plus she developed arthritis in her hips and has had two hip replacements.

“Pre-pandemic I was getting back into golf and even curled….I was able to get down in the hack so that was great.”

While the game may have changed, the route to becoming a high-level competitor has not and still takes lots of hard work, dedication, discipline, and determination. Another important factor is the “social-balance”, notes Branchaud, which is what the Outaouais Club offered her.

“That was the nice thing about the Club when you are all training all of the time and you can come back to Outaouais Cub and it’s always friendly and I enjoyed that fun part of it.”

Branchaud also stresses “making the most of every opportunity” and using all the available resources should be considered if you want to take your game to the highest level.

“I loved to practice and play, and I always set a challenge to learn something new when I was on the pitch and that really helped me at Outaouais.”

Branchaud says that it is also important to be flexible and adaptable and to know what is expected for each of the team roles.

“I have played every position, mainly a forward but the one thing that you don’t want is to get stuck in that state of mind of always being a forward.”

When Branchaud was competing, field-hockey was played in high-schools and at the university level but that is not so much the case anymore. Branchaud advises young players to go to wherever field-hockey is offered to improve their skills and become more competitive.

It may be a bit of an understatement to say that field-hockey has had a major impact on Branchaud’s life, but her experiences and the lessons she learned on the field as a player, coach, and umpire, have played an integral part of who she is today. She reflects on her field-hockey career and offers the following advice to young players who are just starting out.

“Don’t be afraid to dream. This is something that a sports psychologist that I worked with said and it’s very true: What the mind can conceive, and the heart can believe you can achieve,” she says. “See it in your mind and want it with all of your heart and you can achieve it.”