Australian Olympic Hockeyroo Jayde Taylor has one message for all participants in sports, be them elite or not – always wear a mouth guard.

On a visit to the Ricoh Centre with the Australian Dental Association, Taylor was joined by Hawthorn’s Luke Breust and Isaac Smith to promote the importance of protecting your teeth, no matter what sport you play.

Breust, Smith and Taylor were joined by female students from Melbourne school PLC, who play both football and hockey and are encouraged to wear mouth guards each time they step out onto the field.

Taylor says she has learnt the importance of mouth guard wearing, given she plays a dangerous sport where there’s a constant threat of injury.

“Even though hockey isn’t really a contact sport, you still have the hockey stick and the hockey ball and, generally it’s the ball that does pop up or hits you around the face, I’ve had a few stitches here and there,” Taylor told hawthornfc.com.au

“It gives you a bit of peace of mind knowing that you’ve got protection there for your teeth just in case something does happen.

“We do have a ‘no mouth guard no play rule’ when we’re coaching little kids, so we do place a lot of importance on making sure you do have your teeth and mouth protected.”

Despite having represented her country at the London Olympic Games, the 27 year old hasn’t lost sight of what’s important when playing sport – being safe when you do so.

She says accidents can always happen.

“You never know, an elbow could go flying, there could be a head clash and little things like that can be quite incidental but they can all certainly affect your smile,” she said.

Taylor says representing her country in the London Games is by far the highlight of her career, revealing the feeling of wearing the green and gold is difficult to describe.

“Achieving the highest that you can in your sport is always something to be extremely proud of,” she said.

“Every time I put on the green and gold body suit, I get a little bit of a chill – I always think ‘this is pretty cool, I’ve got a pretty good job.”

“I’m cherishing every moment that I’ve had over my career and hopefully it keeps going for a little bit longer.”

While Taylor acknowledges AFL players aren’t afforded the same opportunity as Olympic and other world sports to play for their country, she admits the respect in the Hockeyroos locker room for AFL players is high.

“We do admire what the footy players do and obviously they’re in the media constantly, so there comes a lot of pressure with that,” she said.

“For them to be playing the highest they can in their sport, although it’s not in the green and gold, it’s certainly up there with what they’re trying to achieve and get the best out of their potential and out of their sport.”

Similar to AFL players though, Taylor says being an Australian hockey player is a full time job, a sport that requires them to be at peak physical condition and to live a healthy lifestyle to perform at their peak.

Taylor says those aspects are just some of what the two codes have in common.

“We’re doing a lot of nutrition seminars at the moment because you’ve got to look after your nutrition, your recovery, your sleep, everything that you’re doing outside of what you’re doing on the track,” she said.

“It is a full-time job, 24/7 looking after everything so you can make sure you’re putting in your best performances out there because every time you’re on the pitch, it’s a selection session, people are watching all the time and they remember things.

“You want to make sure you’re giving 100 per cent all the time and ticking every other box to make sure you can do the best you can.

“My motto is, ‘you can control the controllables’ – make sure you look after the things you can control and the rest will take care of itself.”

Jayde Taylor is an Australian field Hockey player who has represented Australia at the London Olympic Games in 2012, won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth games and represented her country at the 2010 FIH World Cup.

Isaac Smith decided to pick the brain of Jayde Taylor during the visit, looking for some pointers on his hockey game.
 

Then he tries to put those tips into action, but it looks a bit more like a golf swing. Luke Breust and Taylor find the funny side to his approach.