Of any position in any sport, goaltending might just be the one with the most pressure. To be the last line of defense comes with a lot of expectation. To be the only line of defense comes with a lot more.
But for Katy-Jo Williams, who is the only goalkeeper headed to the upcoming Indoor World Cup in Germany with the Canadian Women’s Indoor National Team, the pressure has become commonplace.
The 25 year-old native of Burlington, Ontario has been in a similar situation before.
Last April at the 2014 Pan American Cup in Uruguay, she was also Canada’s only goalie at the tournament, and she performed exceptionally well, leading the Canada to gold and a berth in the 2015 Indoor World Cup.
“I definitely felt the pressure where I was the only goalie,” she recalls. “If you let in a few goals that are bad, you can’t get pulled, there’s no one else there’s only you.”
“I think that it was a lot of pressure but I just accepted the challenge.”
For some, it could be a lot – maybe too much – to deal with it. But KJ has learned to accept it as the norm.
Williams has a history of playing in the pressure-packed position.
From her time playing ice hockey in Burlington, during which every game she played in she was between the pipes, or to her varsity career playing field hockey at the University of Toronto, where she lead the Blues to the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) title in 2011 while accumulating ten shutouts.
But despite all her accolades and pedigree, being counted on so heavily as the team’s only keeper heading to indoor hockey’s biggest stage comes with a roller coaster of emotions.
“I’m so excited to not have to worry about competing with someone else,” she says of being the team’s only goalie at the World Cup. “But at the same time there’s a lot of pressure on me to perform my best.”
But in every instance so far, she’s been able to do just that.
A lot of that comes down to ability. But much of it also comes with confidence, which is something Williams has been able to build through her Women’s Indoor National Team head coach, John D’Souza, who has been guiding her for the better part of a decade since their time together with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
“John had so much confidence in me that it made me a better goalie because of it, knowing that your coach is behind you one-hundred percent,” she says.
“The whole coaching staff are so great at giving me the motivation to perform at my best and I think that has played a huge role.”
For the coach, that comfort with his goalie is just as important and the keeper’s comfort with him.
“She wants to win, she competes hard, and she’s extremely athletic,” says D’Souza.
“I think that she’s going to show a lot of people on the world stage that she should be talked about. She is that good.”
Of course, if Canada wants to reach its goal of finishing in the top eight, they will have to have a team firing on all cylinder, not just goalkeeping.
But with Williams as the backstop, they know they’ll have a chance.
The Canadian Women’s Indoor National Team begins the 2015 Indoor World Cup on February 4th with two games. To view the complete schedule and results, click here. Also stay tuned to Field Hockey Canada’s website, Facebook and Twitter feeds for game recaps, photos, and more.
