The Betfair Big Interview: England hockey star James Fair

Other / Ralph Ellis / 19 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

Swerving footballs? Compare that to someone belting a hard ball at you at more than 120kph says James Fair.

"The football goalkeepers moan about the ball swerving, but our biggest problem is it flying straight at you at more than 100 miles an hour! Seriously we’ve got quite a lot of protection, and if you know what you are doing you can get in the way and use that. There are times when people are close and you can’t react and get whacked, but you just get used to it."

Fabio Capello might not know his number one for the World Cup yet, but there's no doubt for the England hockey team. We met up with their goalkeeper James Fair at Heathrow just before he flew Down Under for next week's Champions Trophy competition. . .

Hi James, and first of all we'll wish you luck in Australia - after winning the European Cup in the summer the players must be in good spirits

Definitely, the experience we had in the summer was fantastic, and the lads are all pretty high at the moment, although we've all had to come back to the league season and catch up with work, so we are probably not in the same sort of physical condition we were in the summer.

That must be a problem with a part-time sport

It is. For the big tournaments we do two or three months preparation where we are training all together three or four days a week, but you then get a bit of down time. We've just come from that so to be honest we are maybe not as prepared as we would like to be, but after the summer we know we can beat the best teams in the world

Is hockey as a sport moving forward?

It is, the demands put on us in the international side are as professional as we can get, and we've just agreed a new kit deal with adidas including the Three Lions for the first time, and that's another step forward. We're moving that way, and the money up until 2012 from lottery funding is enough that it will just about support you, although most will work part-time. I've got a job as a teacher in a school in Buckinghamshire that lets me be near to the training base at Bisham.

So as a goalkeeper you must look at the footballers with a bit of envy

Yeah but if you spent too much time thinking on those lines you'd drive yourself barmy!

That said, while Fabio Capello is still searching for his number one, you're pretty well established. Is it 33 caps now?

It is, and I had a decent tournament over the summer, but there's loads of competition. Our second choice goalkeeper Nick Brothers, for a start, is top quality and when it comes to Great Britain, Ali McGregor from Scotland played in the Olympics last time. Even if you do play well you can't rest on your laurels.

Is 2012 the ultimate goal?

Yeah, the plan is definitely aimed at that. Winning the gold medal over the summer was a massive step forward in knowing we can perform at the highest level. Along the way we've got a World Cup in March, the Commonwealth Games and another European cup and we want to be going to those and playing as well as possible, so when we get to the Olympics we know we are capable of winning a medal

How did you get into hockey?

Just through my family, my dad used to play and so did my uncle and they took me to the club?

And how did you end up in goal?

I used to play football in goal for the school, and then for one hockey game the goalie didn't turn up so I got thrown in. I just stayed there since.

It looks a pretty dangerous job?

It is! The football goalkeepers moan about the ball swerving, but our biggest problem is it flying straight at you at more than 100 miles an hour! Seriously we've got quite a lot of protection, and if you know what you are doing you can get in the way and use that. There are times when people are close and you can't react and get whacked, but you just get used to it.

How fast does the ball travel?

Some of the drag flickers can flick it at 120 kph, and the people who hit it can hit it harder than that. We've not got the technology they have in the cricket to be totally accurate, and maybe it's just as well!

Do you get into videos of the penalty takers you might face?

Yeah, the coaching staff have a real big video library and you look at short corners and penalties, but against the top teams the best guys can flick it any corner any time so you can't really predict it.

The team spirit must be good after beating the Germans in a final in Germany?

We've been together for a five year programme now. There are a couple of younger guys coming in from the under 21s this tournament, but basically it's the same squad and there's good banter now.

You are all growing moustaches?

The Australians challenged all the teams to take part in Movember, the charity for prostate cancer and male depression. Everybody is growing a moustache and if they don't, they get fined. I've been walking round the school where I teach with a big handle bar moustache, and getting a bit of ribbing from the kids. It's okay when you are with the team and everybody knows why, but out in public you feel a bit silly. But it's been good, we've already raised over £2,000, and that's another aim to try to raise more money than the Australian hockey team

We'll give you a chance to make some more with a free £50 bet

Great, I'll have half of it on Liverpool to beat Manchester City at [1.98], and the rest on England to win the first One Day International in South Africa at [3.25]