This ‘custodian’ defends England’s goal as well as its skies

Liam Sanford sees a lot of similarities in the twin careers he combines: one in shielding the England citadel as defender of the national hockey team and the other in protecting the skies as part of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF).

The 22-year-old is the senior aircraftman at the RAF, a job he believes has been a big factor in his development as a hockey player, and vice-versa.

Sanford's role in the London-based RAF involves working in the air traffic control tower as a fly operation assistant, coordinating with pilots in ensuring their jets take off, fly around and land smoothly.
Pretty much what he does on the hockey field, he says, yelling and receiving instructions to and fro his teammates in his quest to win every game for his country.

"At RAF, I basically do all the talking to the pilots, providing basic information that they need to take off, land and do what they have to do," Sanford tells DNA.
"Obviously it's different to the civic airports people usually know of, where they just land and take off. Here, we do the more fancy stuff," he says with a laugh.

"Being in the RAF is a lot like playing hockey, really," he says. "It's quite a stressful environment at times; it involves a lot of training, courses and tests to keep you up to date.
"But you have your colleagues around you to work efficiently as a team, which you have in hockey as well," he adds.

Sanford's dual career choices are both inspired by his father, who was in the British military and played hockey at the club level. His mother contributed to it too, gifting her two sons hockey sticks during Christmas.
"I used to live in Cyprus when I was young," Sanford recalls. "My dad was in the military, and he had his own hockey team. So, most of the times I would go with him and mess around with sticks and stuff.

"My mum used to buy me and my brother hockey sticks for Christmas. They then asked us if we'd like to play hockey for a club, and we were like, 'sure, why not?' I carried on while my brother stopped," he says with a tinge of pride in his voice.
Growing up and seeing his father being able to juggle his military role and hockey effortlessly, Sanford knew he had to walk the same road.

After completing his B. Tech in sports science, Sanford underwent a 10-week basic training course to become a member of the air force before being assigned to his specific unit, which comprised a 12-week advanced course to qualify.
"I lived around that military environment all my life. I saw the benefits my dad got with his hockey with regards to time off. He didn't play at as high a standard as me but he still got the luxury to play a sport he loved," he says.

What also attracted him was the range of activities RAF encourages their force of men and women to experience.
"I've done caving, mountain biking and stuff like that I would've never even thought of doing," he says.

"I know a woman who plays hockey and is also captain of the ski team. It's just an incredible opportunity to explore the world in a different way," he says.

While doing all of that, Sanford also graduated steadily at the club level, his hockey board getting a spring after the 2016 Junior World Cup in India. He was drafted into the senior set-up last year, and that's when RAF took note of his talent.

They provided him a time period of four years through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to focus primarily on his hockey, making him a part of the Armed Services Elite Athlete scheme, where he is given leave to train alongside his military duties.

"Most people in the RAF know what I do, so they're good with it," says Sanford, who was awarded as the RAF sportsman of the year last year.
"If they see I'm exhausted after a tough week of hockey, they ask me to take it easy. But at times, they also tell me, 'No, we need to you'," he adds.

Sanford hopes he is able to focus on hockey even after the Tokyo Games, while also realising that it depends on two factors – his performance on the field and RAF's leeway off it.
"After four years, if they don't necessarily need me full time, there is the potential to extend the arrangement. It's all up to them. But hopefully, I won't have to work another day of my life," he says with a chuckle.

KNOW SANFORD

Full name: Liam Sanford

Born: March 14, 1996

Position: Defender

Teams: England, Reading Hockey Club, RAF

DID YOU KNOW?

Besides this senior World Cup, Liam Sanford was also part of the England team that took part in the 2016 Junior World Cup in India