In Profile: Samantha Economos

Can you tell us about your current role at Radford and what it involves?

I am a HPE teacher at Radford. This role involves teaching students in Years 7-10 a range of physical activities and sport and health content. I am also a Year 8 Mentor.

What attracted you to join Radford?

The environment and facilities are amazing. I was also looking to teach in a different environment from the other schools I had previously worked in. The students are extremely motivated learners, and it is nice to work with young people who are so enthusiastic.

You recently came back from playing hockey in South Africa. Can you tell us about the team/tournament you played in and how it went?

I played in the Australian Indoor Hockey Team at the FIH (International Hockey Federation) World Cup in South Africa. The World Cup is every four years and is usually played in Europe. I also went to Europe to Berlin for the last World Cup in 2018. We made the quarter finals, but unfortunately lost to Czech Republic. I had an amazing time and it was an amazing experience. I absolutely loved playing against the best players in the world.

How did you get into hockey?

I started playing hockey when I was eight, after a stint playing soccer. I mainly started playing because many of my friends were already playing, and I wanted to join them. I have pretty much played ever since.

Do you play any other sports? Can you tell us about them?

I also play rugby league and touch football. I have played rugby league for the past two seasons with the Sydney Roosters in the Women’s NRL and the New Zealand Warriors prior to that. In 2018, I went to Fiji with the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII rugby league team to play an international match against Fiji. Rugby league has opened up a lot of pathways for travel and professionalism outside my job as a teacher. I have played touch football since I was six years old and have continued to play at State Cups and State League competitions. It's a sport I'm greatly passionate about.