Kate Pulbrook - Walk a mile in these shoes

Kate works for Hockey NSW as a Regional Coaching Coordinator and her job keeps her pretty busy. She completed a double Degree in Exercise Science and Psychology so was not surprised when she ended up in the sporting industry.

Kate has worked in the job for 5 years and says she always dreamt about working for Hockey NSW having played the game since she was just 4. Her job sees her co-coordinating events, programs, development and competitions within the Western Region.

Kate admits she has trouble starting her day well. She claims not to be a morning person, but her job forces her to be one. She’s big on having a healthy breakfast and never misses, she doesn’t drink coffee, tea is her go to.

When asked to describe a typical day, she said “It’s certainly not 9-5pm, during my first year I worked 46 out of the 52 weekends. It’s hard to be away from my family as much as I am.

Now however, it depends what day it is, the one thing I love about my job is that each day can be something different. I go into schools to teach hockey, I train players that have never played to players that are in State teams, I help develop coaches and umpires in the region, I meet with councils, committees and members. I arrange events and plan everything from booking the ground, promoting the event, lining up coaches to attend, do all the administration involved and then turn up on the day and ensure it all runs according to plan. I need to check my calendar on a very regular basis to see what I am doing and where I may need to travel to, as it could be that I need to travel 3hrs away.”

Kate also loves seeing kids playing hockey and enjoying it, especially those who have no idea in the beginning and then develop their skills quite dramatically. She can’t recall how many high 5’s she’s given out!

Outside her job she plays hockey (of course), she loves spending time with her family and friends, loves to cook, and often you’ll find her fishing with the family or friends or just relaxing and enjoying some down-time.

On career highlights, Kate added “I love coaching State teams, I was able to coach the State U13s Girls team in 2014 and 2015 to win Nationals in both years, that was very exciting and rewarding. I also have been able to meet some amazing people whilst in the role, I looked up to them as a young hockey player and now I am able to call them friends.”

And on the future, travel is in the back of her mind. She said “I have never travelled overseas so I have a big list but definitely Fiji, Greek Islands and New Zealand. All places for different reasons, to relax in Fiji, to enjoy the food and outlook of the Greek Islands and New Zealand to explore.”

Thanks, Kate, for sharing with us, and best wishes for all your hopes and dreams to come true.