Samantha Harrison

Samantha Harrison
	Samantha Harrison, July 2009
Personal information
Born	29 August 1991 (age 32); Whangarei, New Zealand
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Playing position	Forward / Midfield
Club information
Current club	Southern Districts Hockey Club
Senior career
Years	Team
	Auckland Fury
National team
Years	Team
2009–	New Zealand
Medal record
Representing New Zealand
Women's field hockey
Commonwealth Games
Champions Trophy
Champions Challenge
Oceania Cup
Olympic Games

Samantha (Sam) Harrison (born 29 August 1991) 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]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Education

Born in Whangarei to Steve and Zanna Harrison,^[6] Samantha is the second of three sisters, between Charlotte and younger sister Anita.^[7] Samantha attended Whangarei Girls' High School^[8] before moving to Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland in Year 11 (Form 5).^[7]^[9]

In the early 2010s Harrison studied psychology at the Auckland University of Technology on Auckland's North Shore.^[7]

Career

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,^[10] 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, against Argentina in her hometown of Whangarei, as part of a series of games against Argentina and China.^[5]

Harrison was part of the New Zealand team that played at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal.^[11] She then participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where New Zealand finished fourth.^[11]

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 from burnout.^[12] At the time, Harrison spent three months in Cambridge, England, coaching hockey at The Leys School.^[13]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Harrison was part of the New Zealand team that won the women's competition.^[11]

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 they were often mistaken for each other by commentators and match officials.^[7]

At club level, Harrison is a member of the Southern Districts Hockey Club, based in Papatoetoe, Auckland.^[14] In the National Hockey League, she is a member of the Auckland Fury women's team.^[5]^[7]

References

^ "Samantha Harrison – London 2012 Olympics". Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
^ "New Zealand Hockey Representatives – Women" (PDF). Hockey New Zealand. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
^ "New Zealand Goal Scorers – Women" (PDF). Hockey New Zealand. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
^ Lee, Julian (14 July 2012). "Olympics: Hockey club churning out stars". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sam Harrison – Hockey New Zealand". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
^ "2011 Sport yearender – New Zealand sport – Page 19". Fairfax Media (via Stuff.co.nz). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "You can just call us Harrisons". The Dominion Post (via Stuff.co.nz). 12 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^ Thorley, Peter (8 May 2006). "HOCKEY – Hikurangi clinch their first win". The Northern Advocate. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
^ Maddaford, Terry (15 February 2012). "College sport: World-class hockey pitches at Diocesan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
^ "Fresh new talent defines the 2009 Black Sticks women's national squad". Hockey New Zealand. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Hockey | Athlete Profile: Samantha HARRISON - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^ Brown, Michael (22 November 2012). "Hockey: Sam Harrison left out of Black Sticks squad". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
^ "England give Albery leading role in Tests". Cambridge News. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
^ Lee, Julian (14 July 2012). "Olympics: Hockey club churning out stars". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2012.