Kate Jenner made a whirlwind visit to her old stomping ground, Oxley High, as she prepares to wing her way west again for a tilt at a second Olympics.
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The London Olympian was last Friday named in the 2020 Hockeyroos squad, making the prospect of playing at the Tokyo Olympics suddenly a reality.
Eighteen months ago it probably would have been the furthest thing from her mind, after stepping away from the game in 2015.
She was enticed back to play for the Arrows last year in the Australian Hockey League, and from there it has been "a quick progression".
Jenner said there wasn't really one specific moment where she thought this is what she wants to do again.
"I came back to play because it was the last AHL before we went into the new Hockey One format, so I kind of wanted to get back for that and for the NSW girls," she said.
"From that I got named in the development squad and from there I thought, oh dear, how much more are we going to push this? And then I linked up with NSWIS (NSW Institute of Sport) this year."
"There was the goal of getting back in the squad but at the same time I guess at this stage in life, I've also got my life set up, so there's not so much pressure for it to be the be all and end all.
"But [I'm] happy to put everything in for the next six months and put everything on the backburner for a bit."
She will fly over to Perth on Sunday and still has a bit to organise, like sorting out a job and somewhere to live.
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Jenner juggles training commitments with full-time work (she is Hockey NSW's regional coaching coordinator for the Central Coast, Hunter and Newcastle area) and part-time uni. So, obviously, it has been a pretty hectic 2019 for Jenner, but her selection in the Hockeyroos squad has made all the hard work worth it.
"It's exciting to be back in the squad," she said.
She spoke about being "pretty tired" and "a little bit over it" when she decided to take some time away from the game.
"I think stepping away from hockey and more into the coaching side of it I'm a bit more refreshed now, even though I'm much older than I was back then," she said, adding that she is probably a little bit more mature, too, and a bit more relaxed with her approach to the game.
There are no assurances that she will be in Tokyo in July, and she knows she has a lot of hard work ahead of her.
"I don't think anyone's guaranteed [of a spot]," she said.
"Spots are up for grabs and you never know who's going to be fit and firing by the time Tokyo rolls around," she said. "So it's all about all 27 of us getting in there and having a red hot crack and hopefully all of us building towards and pushing for those spots, because I think that's what will guarantee, hopefully, a medal this time around at the Olympics."
Jenner was at Oxley to work with the Talented Athlete Program's hockey players. An ambassador for the program, she said it's exciting for the youngsters to have this opportunity.
"It's good to see they're developing hockey up at Oxley," she said.
The school's Talented Athlete Program coordinator, Katrina Davis, said it was great to have Jenner there to run the coaching clinic.
"It's great for the kids to have such an icon to run through some skills," she said.
