Interview with Marty Hyde, Apr 2011

April 4, 2011 by Tim Fry, Lacrosse Victoria

Lacrosse Victoria's Tim Fry took some time out during last weekends Warrnambool Classic to chat with Marty Hyde from MCC Lacrosse Club and discovers there is a lot more to him than just a 150km/hr shot!

In the first of what we anticipate to be a number of player interviews in men's and women's lacrosse, LV is pleased to share an exclusinve interview with 2010 Australian Field and 2011 Indoor team member Marty Hyde.

Marty Hyde is not the sort of player you want to get stuck on in defence, his quick, can turn on a dime and can shoot the ball really, really fast!  He makes the opposition defence work and goal keepers very nervous, and his only 23!

Born and bred playing football, Marty literally fell into lacrosse, and as with many lacrosse players, it was a family connection through his cousin Jules that exposed Marty to the sport.  Having a bye in the U/15 competition football league and having nothing else to do on a Saturday, Marty headed down to the Albert Ground to watch his cousin Jules play lacrosse.  As it turned out the team was short, so Marty suited up for MCC and was hooked.

As Marty recalls: "From that moment on I couldn't wait for the footy season to finish so I could take up Lacrosse as my number one sport. Through that summer leading up to my first season in 2002 I practiced a lot which lead me to making my first representative side in my first year of lacrosse with southern Crosse and what a year to start the game with the World Championships to be held in Perth. I've never looked back since".

Now given that Marty has only been in the game for eight or so years, his achievements are very impressive, however, the stand out was clearly Marty's selection in the 2010 Australian team,

TF: What was the world championship like in Manchester?

MH: "Representing Australia at the World Championships was a great experience. I fulfilled a very big goal of mine with a lot of hard work put in. I gained a great deal from the Worlds, playing against the best players in the world. I'm a very big student of the game so I've watched and read a lot of lacrosse coverage and media, so to be standing on the same field as the guys you've idolised for so long soon became reality."

"At the world champs in Perth 2002 I remember watching Ryan McClay (USA defender), as a 15 year old thinking how good he must be, and to suit up in your first world championships 8 years later with him defending on you, was sure a mind blow. It makes you think what chance you have, but the biggest thing I learnt from my experience is that, the American and Canadians who we place on high pedalstal's, have two arms and two legs, just like us Aussies."

"Putting the playing perspective aside the Championships as a whole was a fantastic event, I had a lot of family fly over to support which was great to see them there cheering me on and with 32 countries playing Lacrosse at the one venue, it really doesn't get much better than that. Denver 2014 is shaping up to be one of the biggest World Championships yet, and I can't wait for it!"

TF: This is your first indoor world championship, what got you into indoor?

MH: "Yes this will be my first indoor World Championships and I'm really looking forward to it. Box Lacrosse is such an exciting game to play. I've watched endless amounts of YouTube clips and came to the realisation, that to be a dominate player in this game you have to play both forms of it, Field and Box. The Americans, Canadians and Iroquois' all play both forms, and at every world championship they are the ones to beat. So I finally got down to play the box lacrosse season and I've loved it ever since."

TF: How have you found the transition?

MH: "The transition has been good. I've had some of the more experienced blokes help me along, but it's an ongoing process. I'm getting used to the way we play box here but I'm sure once we get to Prague its going to be a different story. When Coach McDougall was out here last year for a camp he identified me as a field player straight away, saying I'm playing on the out skirts rather than getting on the inside and getting my feet dirty (in front of the goal) , known as toilet seat lacrosse, so I've been working a lot on that. Once you are on the inside you've got to figure out how to get the ball past the goalie who takes up 90% of the goal which is a great challenge. So there are a lot of things that I'm working on and I can't wait to put them to the test in Prague."

TF: And how's MCC shaping up this year?

MH: "It's been a long pre-season with good numbers showing up; everyone is looking forward to the first game down in Warnambool. We have a new coach, new goalie and a few new heads around the club, which should make for an interesting season."

[LV]

Lacrosse Victoria wishes Marty a successful World Championship campaign and 2011 season.