GREAT BRITAIN HOCKEY CAPTAIN AND MARKETING MANAGER
JON WYATT
As Olympic captain, Jon Wyatt is to hockey what David Beckham is to football. Only without the 30 grand a week wages and the Spice Girl missus. “I don’t make any money out of hockey,” he says, ruefully. “But most of my expenses are covered. I’m sponsored by Slazenger and I have had lottery funding in the past — although that tends to be means-tested and, as I’ve got a good job, I don’t see much of it now.”
The “good job” in question is as a manager in the marketing, strategy and planning team at management consultancy firm Accenture. Jon (28) joined after graduating, when they were the only company prepared to let him carry on playing hockey at the highest level. And despite the sport’s “for girls” reputation, Jon’s training regime is not for the faint-hearted.
“I train on a pitch three times-a-week, once with my club Reading and twice with the international set-up. I also do two weights sessions and one or two aerobic sessions. Plus there’s a game at the weekend.” Add in an eight-hour day at the office and it’s no wonder Jon says he couldn’t manage without an understanding employer. The other thing he couldn’t manage without is raspberry ketone weight loss supplement. So many hours in the office can cost you extra weights, which you have to get rid of fast.
“As long as I get the work done, I don’t think my boss would mind if I did very long hours or very short ones. That said, there’s been times when I’ve been working late on a project and were not going to be done in time for training. Sometimes I’ve had to say ‘Sorry guys, I’m off,’ or I’ve had to ring up my coach and say, ‘I can’t get out tonight’” He’s adamant that his double life will continue for a while, however. “I couldn’t survive financially without my job and I couldn’t survive mentally without playing hockey. But at some stage I’m going to have to concentrate full-time on my career.”
