Rhiana Galvin hasn’t taken long to make her name as a Performance Analyst in not only Welsh hockey, but far further afield as well.
A grassroots regular in her younger years in Pembrokeshire, Rhiana continued to play as she studied at Cardiff Metropolitan University, which is where her career path was truly forged as she decided to specialise in hockey and was passed by the baton by her dissertation supervisor and former Hoci Cymru analyst Lucy Holmes.
Ever since, she hasn’t looked back.
Having become a Lecturer at just 22, Rhiana will come full circle as she takes up a Senior Lecturer role to educate the next generation at Cardiff Metropolitan University later this year.
And from working with the university’s teams and Cardiff & Met sides to supporting Team GB in Paris this summer, Rhiana has collected some unforgettable experiences in the field as well as the lecture hall.
“My first senior trip was with the senior women in March 2019,” she remembered fondly as she sat down to chat with us recently. “We went to Antibes in the south of France for a little test series there.”
With the experience obtained on trips with our teams a foundation to build on, Rhiana went on to do her Masters with GB Hockey before returning to work with Hoci Cymru.
“Without that, I don't know if I would have been so successful in obtaining the studentship with GB Hockey,” she stated. “It gave me the knowledge that I needed in terms of working in high performance sport.
“The university setting in Cardiff Met is really top-level stuff, but obviously going into international standard is completely different, so I'm super grateful for that.
“Then, being able to learn more from the GB set-up and take it back to Hoci Cymru was amazing; as were the trips I was able to be on and the experiences I learned from.”
From the opportunities to network and learn from analysts all over the world, Rhiana returned to Hoci Cymru to utilise her knowledge and join our sides on some memorable trips.
“I was really fortunate to go to the Junior Hockey World Cup in South Africa with the U21s Wales lot. South Africa has now got a place in my heart,” she reminisced.
“It was a phenomenal trip for every single staff member and obviously the players. From the young group we had, a lot of them are now in the senior squad; I think it makes me feel old, but it makes me feel really, really proud!
“It’s funny because I thought that trip couldn’t be topped, until I went to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham! There's something really magical about a Commonwealth Games.”
Another career highlight arrived two years later, as Rhiana joined Team GB for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer in what was a “surreal” experience.
“I basically got a call three days before, on the Saturday, and left on the Tuesday,” she revealed. “It was a quick turnaround, but they were absolutely phenomenal in preparing us.
“After arriving on the Tuesday, the first game was on the Saturday, so it was four days of knuckling down and making sure I was comfortable with what my workflow was, which they were also really supportive with.
“I essentially took on the role of doing immediate opposition” Rhiana explained. “So, while we were out in Paris, I focused on the teams that we might come up against in the group in a few days’ time.”
One of four, two remote and two in Paris, Rhiana was in the French capital feeding into the turnaround to coaches and players for scouting purposes.
“It was absolutely amazing!
“I always say to people that it's so funny that in my head I was going to fulfil a job, but every now and then you just look and go, no, this is the Olympics, the rings are just sat there! So, it was quite often a ‘pinch me’ moment.
“Between the Junior World Cup, Commonwealth Games, and obviously the Olympics, they’re the three highlights alongside being promoted to Senior Lecturer earlier this year!”
When summarising the importance of analysis for the game, in which analysts will look at everything from individual elements in training to tactical coding in matches, Rhiana emphasised the decision-making power it provides to coaches and their players.
“The way analysis has progressed over the last 20 years is unbelievable.
“Whether it be scouting, recruiting or just performance-based, it's a lot more objective. It gives decision-making a bit of a backbone, especially when it comes to major tournaments, making those decisions as coaches and performance staff,” she explained.
“There are obviously wider elements of the decision-making, but the analysis is essentially the backbone to it and helps the process. It also paints a picture of what's truly happening instead of what every individual player might watch on a video.
“The data side also comes into it and provides an overview to the players and staff, who in my experience have respected that data and understood it in a positive manner.
“Analysis is a bit of a playmaker for the teams.”
How can Veo bring this to the grassroots game?
Hoci Cymru is committed to enabling clubs to propel the games of their teams and individuals, and our partnership with Veo supports us in doing that.
“In hockey and grassroots sports across the globe, we often have issues with resources, infrastructure and facilities,” Rhiana commented. “Veo essentially cuts out three issues; your infrastructure of a climbing tower, your video of a camcorder, and the resource of somebody standing there. So, it's essentially just supported three processes of the sporting world.
“I think it's brilliant. It’s accessible and it’s simple. If teams can use it, my advice would definitely be to get one because the features are changing, adapting and improving every year.
“It’s changing the grassroots game, which is phenomenal,” she continued, “ and that will eventually feed the international, high-performance standards and the levels up there. Without the grassroots improving, we can't exactly improve on our own either.”
Clubs can take advantage of a bumper discount of Veo Cameras courtesy of our partnership, and can utilise Sport Wales Crowdfunder funding to support its instillation. Learn more here.
Comments