The Old Diocesan Issue 12 - Magazine - Page 102
LEAVING THE BADGE
IN A BETTER PLACE
After a decade representing South Africa on the international
stage, Ryan Julius has hung up his outdoor boots. In conversation
with Mike Wright, he reflects on his journey from the international
stage to Technical Director of Hockey at Bishops
I
retired in March last year
after playing for my country
for 10 years. Many factors
influenced that decision. I got
married, my wife was pregnant,
and I entered a phase of life that
required more attention. Playing
hockey for South Africa is
demanding, and the tours aren’t
always feasible when you have a
family and work full-time. There
were also changes in the team,
so stepping away was the right
decision for me and the team
to come.
Earlier in my career, hockey felt
like my identity. Everyone knew
Ryan as the hockey player. At the
time, that bugged me. I remember
thinking, “There’s actually more
to me.” So when I thought about
retiring, I worried: is that all people
will remember me for?
When I finished my studies and
started working, I gravitated towards
people who understood that hockey
was the vessel that got me through
life, but it wasn’t my entire identity.
That shift made a big difference.
By the time I retired, my identity
had grown beyond just the field,
so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought
it would be.
I was also content with what I had
achieved as a hockey player. When
a group of us made our debut, we
sat in a hotel room and asked one
another what we wanted to achieve
in the next six years. We all agreed
we wanted to leave the badge in
a better position than we found it.
98 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
That was the agreement – and we
did it. We won the Nations Cup. We
beat Germany for the first time. We
beat France in Paris. We achieved
our highest Olympic stats. When
you hold yourself accountable
to something like that, it carries
weight every time you sing the
national anthem. So yes, it was
sad to close that chapter, but there
was satisfaction in knowing we’d
achieved what we set out to do.
Ryan Julius in action against Great
Britain at the Olympic Games in
Tokyo, July 2021. Ryan earned 86
senior outdoor caps for South Africa,
scoring 7 goals. He has 37 indoor
caps, with 29 goals, as of March.
Visit odunion.com
for the extended Q&A
between Ryan and Mike.
