Field hockey is a family thing for fourth-year Sanehpreet Basra. Her father played for his university team and when their local club started a youth program, he signed both Basra and her older sister up.
Years later, both sisters would go on to play at the university level and Basra’s two younger siblings also play the sport. Basra tried other sports, but field hockey was the one that stuck the most.
“My mom put us in swimming for a bit when we were really young, but … me and my older sister, we both failed like every level,” Basra laughed. “So that was definitely not meant for us.”
Track was somewhat nerve-wracking for UBC’s star midfielder, who liked the practices but not the competitions. But game days for field hockey, however, have always been different.
“It’s a different kind of nervousness. Because you can rely on your teammates, it’s not just an individual sport,” she said.
Still, Basra admits that the onlooking crowds and multitudes of external distractions for field hockey game days were something she had to get used to.
“I’m the type of player, or person, that needs to just sit in a corner, put a jacket over my head, close my eyes and calm down the nerves,” she replied, laughing when asked if she had a pre-game routine. “Hyping myself up just gets me overwhelmed.”
But once on the field, Basra is a force. This season, she was awarded both the Canada West and U Sports Field Hockey Player of the Year award, despite UBC’s team not making it far into the postseason. She is the first UBC player to win the award without the team winning the national championship.
Basra was surprised when her coach told her she had received the U Sports award and asked whether Basra would want to fly out to Toronto to receive it.
“I was like why not? It’s a good experience, it’s a-once-in-a-lifetime,” she said.
While at UBC, Basra has mainly been a midfielder, but she has played every position available at some point — her on-field positioning has always “depended on what the team needed at the time.”
“Any position that I’m put, I think I’d just be glad to be on the field,” she said.
Currently finishing her fourth year at UBC as an English literature major with a creative writing minor, Basra has developed a wide range of skills both on and off the field. The skill, however, that she feels she has most developed is confidence.
“I think it’s still something that I’m learning to this day how to trust my skills. All the training, all the strength and conditioning, does help in the long run.”
After graduation Basra plans on “going with the flow,” although she expects to apply for a BEd program. Nearing the end of her eligibility, Basra already knows she’s going to miss her Thunderbird family. In light of this, she reminds herself to appreciate the small moments.
“Sometimes I think about what life will be after I graduate,” she said. “I might complain about morning practices now, but I know five years down the road, it’s something that I’m going to miss so much because it’s been a part of my life for so long.”