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An interview with Ben Hanson
We caught up with first year Physiotherapy student, Ben Hanson, about his time at St Mary’s so far.
Alongside his degree, Ben is a Sport Scholar at St Mary’s having played hockey at an international level since he was 16.
Ben told us what the course has been like so far, as well as how he’s balancing his studies with sport.
What is your sporting background?
I started playing hockey internationally when I was 16. I was in the under-16 junior squad for England and I stayed in that for a couple of years. I was captain at a few of the tournaments as well, which was really cool.
I trialled for the under-18 team but didn't get in first year. I then trialled again and got in, but dropped out as I’d gone back up into the under-21s which is a much bigger squad. With the under-21s they select a set group from the wider squad. It’s like a big training group which they shorten down to a playing group. I'm just trying to work my way up into that playing group now.
What’s it like playing sport at university?
I'd say it's very different to any setting that I've been in before. You get to meet a load of new people through university sport that you've never played with them before. Most of the time anyway. But we’ve really gelled as a team, and getting to make that new team bond and then going to different universities to play matches together is really fun.
There's always something going on as well before your matches. Last week we watched the rugby before we went and played on our game, which was really cool. All the sports teams will help each other out, and it’s like you’ve got your own little community which is within the big St Mary's community. I think it’s really cool.
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