Hockey's Transformers: Simon Mason, Part II
The legendary GB goalkeeper turned commentator talks kit innovation, how the game has changed and winning before you play.
In the second half of a two-part series, Simon Mason shares his wide vantage point on the game as a former player and commentator for the best part of four decades. He spoke to us about how the game has changed, the role of kit and equipment in that evolution, where the game is going, what lessons it has taught him and whether goalkeepers can, in fact, play out-field without being a liability.
As well as your commentary career, you are owner and MD of hockey equipment brand, Mercian. What’s your company vision and what do you bring to the game?
When we started out there were about 20 hockey stick brands on the market. With the explosion of the internet, there are now 150. In such a competitive landscape, you need to be clear on who you are.
We are not a brand steeped in 100+ years of tradition, nor are we one of the up-and-coming disruptor brands. We are a technically-focused brand. We’re about material science, quality production and we understand what people need on a pitch to play successfully. This led us (alongside a smart and passionate marketing agency) to our tag line; ‘Win before you play’. We’ll do everything we possibly can to facilitate the player’s performance, so they succeed in some small way before they step onto the pitch at all. This could be anything from sustainable packaging (so people feel good about what they’re doing), to top-class customer service and technical advice. We are about innovative, tech-driven solutions for the sport we love.
You’ve had a great vantage point as a player, commentator and kit innovator for the game over the last four decades. How has hockey evolved during this time?
It is almost a completely different sport. My hockey days began on grass and shale. I was around for the advent of artificial turf and have seen it evolve to become the high-performance surface it is today. The arrival of water-based turf meant players could go to ground and that had a massive positive impact on how players could deflect, tackle and intercept. The world wants exciting sport and that’s what we’ve been able to deliver because people like the team at Polytan have worked really hard on the surfaces that we play on.
How else has the equipment, specifically, changed the game?
Then came the change from wooden to composite sticks. This meant that ball speeds went up by 20-25%, people understood the dynamics of drag flicking, and penalty corners became more exciting. New skills emerged as a result. I think I was in goal when the first back-hand goal went in. It was by a guy called Marc Delissen of the Netherlands at the 1995 Champions Trophy, in Berlin. We all stopped, unsure of what had just happened. The umpire gave the goal and now it’s a staple part of the modern game.
And if we still wore the leather pads I wore when I started out, there would be broken limbs. The goalkeeping foam materials that we’re producing now have to absorb the shock of a ball coming at speeds of up to 140km per hour. And yet you have goalkeepers who are more agile and mobile than they have ever been. They are playing defensive sweeper roles.
“Hockey is a progressive sport with a global audience and the knowledge in that audience is huge. We have an immense amount of smart people trying to continually progress the game and where we need to be as a sport.”
You were at the Hockey 5s in Oman which was played on a dry turf. How important a step was that for the sustainability of the game?
Hockey is on a journey and this was a positive step forward for the future of the game. Hockey is a progressive sport with a global audience and the knowledge in that audience is huge. We have an immense amount of smart people trying to continually progress the game and where we need to be as a sport. Companies pushing the boundaries of material technology for pitches and equipment like Polytan and Mercian or the scientists behind the self-lubricating balls used in Oman have an important role to play and it will be a collective endeavour. All those things need to come together with the objective of producing the most exciting, accessible and sustainable sport possible.
What is the future for hockey?
The athleticism within the game at the top level has fundamentally changed how the game is played and how quick it is and that is amazing.
But we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that there are people playing hockey at all levels, all around the world in many formats – beach, indoor, 5s, 11s, para-hockey – in different social and economic environments. We need to recognise, protect and develop all of that as best we can. You only had to be at the Hockey5s World Cup to realise there are nations who don’t play 11s and therefore we need a small-sided game. The shortened format, however, doesn’t replace the indoor game that is big in Europe. They all have a place and if we can understand that and not dictate the solution to people, we will unify the sport and face up to the challenges that are coming from other sports competing for the same audience.
What does the future hold for Simon Mason?
Hockey is me. All my skills are hockey-related or there because of hockey so to continue in the game makes total sense. Goalkeepers out on the pitch are usually a liability at best. But a combination of having my own knees and hips, staying relatively fit, my ability to read a game, a reasonable eye for a ball and ability to make some tackles, means I have been able to forge a late career at full-back. Amazingly, I have been picked for the England Over 50s to go to New Zealand in November for the Masters World Cup. It’s a privilege and honour to play for an international team again. I’m not sure if anyone else has played in goal and out on pitch for their country other than the German substitute goalkeeper Mark Appel who famously had to play up front in the 2017 World League Final and scored against India!
What’s the biggest lesson hockey has taught you?
Hockey has taught me pretty much everything but there are two lessons that stand out.
The only thing you’re ever truly in control of is your own time and energy. If you want to succeed you must learn to never quit.
Try to look at everything from the other person’s point of view.