Aug 06 2024 33 mins
From Goal to Goal – The Down about Down Podcast with Kaitlyn Morrison. Dundonald’s International Ice-Hockey, Inline and Ball-Hockey player.
In this podcast Chris speaks to 21-year-old Kaitlyn Morrison from Dundonald about her career and successes both on and off the rink.
Kaitlyn was introduced to the ice rink at the tender age of four by her dad Mark Morrison, who was one of Belfast’s local sporting legends with the Belfast Giants.
Kaitlyn talks about her early career with the Junior Belfast Giants who had teams regularly playing in the Scottish League. She was fortunate to be selected for Team Scotland Under 15’s and within a few years had played games with Solway Sharks Under 16 girls at the age of 13 and she was also selected for Great Britain Under 16’s. This was a first for a female ice-hockey player from Northern Ireland.
Whilst playing for the Scottish Conference Team in a tournament at Sheffield in 2017, Kaitlyn was spotted by a representative of the Ontario Hockey Academy which led to a scholarship and placement at the academic-athletic developmental hockey training school in Canada. She told Chris “It is an amazing opportunity for anyone who gets the chance.” She made the Under 18 Great Britain Women’s team and played in the World Championships held in Dumfries where she attained a bronze medal. Kaitlyn returned to Northern Ireland in 2019 and played with the Junior Belfast Giants Under 20 team and Belfast Giants Scottish National League team.
Kaitlyn continued to pursue her studies and attained her A-Levels which secured her a place on a Sport and Exercise Science degree course at the University of Ulster. She will be starting her final year in September despite a busy schedule on both national and international rinks during this next season.
Kaitlyn scored her first international ice-hockey goal for GB Under 18 team in November 2019 at a four-nation tournament held at Dumfries, Scotland. She also represented Great Britain at the 2023 FISU World University games held in Lake Placid. In July 2023, Kaitlyn travelled to Belgium with the senior Inline Hockey Ireland women’s team to play at the European Championship. It was during this event that she made history, scoring a goal which gave her and the team their first international goal.
Kaitlyn signed for Whitley Bay Beacons, a women’s ice-hockey team, at the beginning of the 2023 season. This ensured she was playing ice-hockey on a regular basis at the highest level in the UK and at the end of the season Kaitlyn picked up the team’s ‘Best Defence Award.’ Inline Hockey Ireland recently awarded her with ‘Female Player of the Year Award 2024.’
Kaitlyn talks to Chris about her up and coming attendance at the trials in August for the Senior GB Women’s Ice-Hockey team and her selection in April to represent Team Ireland Senior Women Inline at the forthcoming World Skate Games this September in Italy.
A podcast not to be missed with a determined lady who not only scores goals but attains them!
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