It can be a warzone. Imagine 22 elite athletes able to hit a granite hard field hockey ball to speeds in excess of 100 km/h. Imagine having to fend off the opposing team’s hockey sticks, while chasing after and protecting that precious ball. Broken bones and shattered noses are common.

It sounds like a warzone, but for 21-year old Pierre Bothma it sounds like home – so much so that he was named the Premier/USSA/Varsity Cup men’s Player of the Year and the overall men’s Player of the Year at the recent North-West University (NWU) Hockey Awards.

Pierre, who is studying towards a BCom degree in business management and entrepreneurship, laughs when the word “guts” is mentioned.

“I suppose so, but hockey is about skill and fitness. It is about hard work, the right attitude and discipline,” he says. Torn ligaments and shattered cheekbones notwithstanding.

Pierre was but a young high school student at Potchefstroom Gymnasium when he was selected for NWU teams he was eligible for. This forward (sometimes midfielder) was immediately drafted into the first hockey team of the campus in Potchefstroom when he started studying, and there he has stayed ever since.

He was part of the Varsity hockey team that finished third in the tournament. However, the highlight of his career came about in August this year when he was drafted for the Drakensburg Dragons team that won the male division of the Premier Hockey League (PHL).

“The PHL is a great tournament that brings hockey to a whole new level. It gives a lot of television exposure to the players,” says Pierre.

“I’m enjoying my studies immensely, but afterwards I want to go and play hockey abroad where there are more opportunities. Hockey is much bigger in Europe and I would really like to play in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.”

When not studying or on the hockey field he relishes taking on his father, Corneel, on the tennis court, the latter being an exceptional player.

“Like all students I also enjoy a braai with my friends!”

That is in the off-season – the rest of the time he is scorching hockey fields with one phenomenal performance after the other.  

The NWU’s Pierre Bothma in action.