– Marzana Fiedtkou and her love for the sport

“HOCKEY is basically my life; it is [built] into my daily schedule. If I’m not playing I’m definitely thinking about it.”
That is what hockey means to 22-year-old Marzana Fiedtkou, a defender/midfielder of the GCC Hockey Club.

At this age, she’s spent more than half of her life playing the sport,14 to be exact, and she is one of the standout performers on the local and international scenes.
In an interview with the second generation hockey player, Marzana told the Pepperpot Magazine that the sport is very close to her family, one of the main reasons for her passion.

“My entire family played, so there was no doubt that this would be the sport I would be involved with. I was one of those little children running around the sidelines while my parents played,” Marzana said.
The Marian Academy graduate who attended lower Sixth Form at the Queens College, went on to gain a scholarship to the Robert Morris University to study and play hockey.
“After my second year, the school cut the hockey programme there because of funding so I transferred to the University of Massachusetts Lowell where I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering Degree.”

And, while this perfect mixture of academics and athletics may seem like the perfect package, she is all about the team first.
“The most important thing to me in hockey is my performance and my contribution to the success of the team and hockey in Guyana,” she said.

“The most memorable moment in my career is definitely Saving one of the Argentines’ goals in the Pan Am cup recently, I think that will forever stay with me.”
Even though she has tried her hand in various sports, hockey will always be her first love, she said, adding, “I have stuck with the sport because I have a passion for it that I never lost, even when trying new sports, I never got that sort of feeling as when I am playing hockey.”

Marzana encourages young people who may be interested in taking up a sport to try hockey, adding that they may very well get hooked on it, just like she did. “It is considered one of the most overall fitness sport; both physically and mentally,” she said.
However, with the Pan American Championships just around the corner, things are beginning to get tough.

“Preparation for the tournament is intense, the training is focused and everyone is channelled into the main goal, which is to qualify for the World Cup in Germany next year,” she added.

“Personally, the nerves will kick in soon, sometimes when I daydream about the tournament they pop up. I know everyone is anxious to play against the competing countries.”

But Marzana is just happy that, even with the ever important competition ahead of her, that she is able to partake in a sport that also brings her so much joy.