Right time to retire Douglas

Black Sticks midfielder Laura Douglas has decided the time is right to call it quits on her national representative career.

The 28-year-old Northlander, who was first included in the national squad in 2005, was named by Black Sticks coach Mark Hager in the 2012 Olympic squad last month.

However, after much deliberation, she decided it was time to give up the black dress.

"I had been thinking about retiring for a long time, and it just felt like it was the right time and I wanted to focus on other things such as my job and doing up my house which has been put on the backburner for two years now," the Kamo High School health and PE teacher explained.

With the London 2012 Olympics looming, the commitment to training sessions, along with time off for tournaments, would be huge.

"It's such a big year for the team and the commitment involved is so big - if it was four years ago, I would have moved to Auckland and got into it, but things have changed," she said.

Since first making the national squad after finishing her studies at the University of North Carolina in the US, Douglas has put in the hard yards, travelling to Auckland twice a week for training, plus playing games.

She was renamed in the squad in 2009 after a two-year absence from international hockey, and since then has been an integral part of the successful Black Sticks contingent, who have flourished under Hager's watchful eye.

Douglas' most recent career highlight was her trip to Japan with the national development team as the team stayed for nine days after their tournament, training and sightseeing.

"It made a nice change from the usual hockey trips where all you do is play hockey and then come home again," Douglas said.

Beating Germany in Germany in the build-up matches to this year's Champions Trophy was also a highlight, as was drawing with Argentina, in Whangarei.

Douglas was unlucky to not be named in the Champions Trophy team, but said she was pleased with what she had accomplished.

When asked if she thought she could make the 16-strong team to compete at next year's Olympics, Douglas said "you never know".

However, there was a lot of competition for her "screen" midfield position, with Black Sticks skipper Kayla Sharland and co-captain Emily Naylor also playing there, she added.

"The coach has been really honest with me, saying there was competition for the spot and I haven't really minded that - my job has been to push the others and add a bit of experience."

But because she was lacking the passion and drive she once had, Douglas made the decision to retire without any regrets, and was looking forward to getting on with other areas of her life.

"I will probably sit down to watch the team at the Olympics next year and think 'what if?' but at the same time it was a bit of a relief after I made the decision," she said.