Samantha Harrison



Samantha (Sam) Harrison (born 29 August 1991)[5]  is a New Zealand field hockey player. She has competed for the New Zealand women's national field hockey team (the Black Sticks Women), including for the team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1]

Harrison was first selected for the Black Sticks Women in June 2009, along with ten other players as the Black Sticks squad was overhauled following its last place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,[6]  joining her older sister Charlotte, who had been in the team since October 2005. She played her first official match for the Black Sticks on 3 July 2009, againstArgentina in her hometown of Whangarei, as part of a series of games against Argentina and China.[5]

Born in Whangarei to Steve and Zanna Harrison,[7]  Samantha is the second of three sisters, between Charlotte and younger sister Anita.[8]  Samantha attended Whangarei Girls' High School[9]  before moving to Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland in Year 11 (Form 5).[8] [10]  As of August 2012, Harrison is studying psychology at the Auckland University of Technology on Auckland's North Shore.[8]

Despite Samantha being two years younger and three centimetres (1 in) taller than her sister Charlotte, once the two competed together for the Black Sticks, their similarities in appearance became apparent and were often mistaken for each other by comentators and match officials.[8]  In mid-2010, Samantha dyed her hair brown to help alleviate the problem,[11]  but within a year had reverted to her natural blonde colour.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">At club level, Harrison is a member of the Southern Districts Hockey Club, based in Papatoetoe, Auckland.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  In the National Hockey League, she is a member of the Auckland Fury women's team.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-HockeyNZprofile_5-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CallUsHarrisons_8-4" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In November 2012, Harrison was demoted from the Black Sticks national squad to the development squad for the 2013 year, after national coach Mark Hager felt she was suffering fromburnout.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  At the time, Harrison spent three months in Cambridge, England, coaching hockey at The Leys School.