Furlong using 'freedom of fatherhood' at Hockey World Cup
· Yahoo Sports
As Wales' men begin a Hockey World Cup campaign for just the second time in their history on Saturday, all eyes shift to Amsterdam.
Danny Newcombe's side will face India, Pakistan and England in pool D with a squad of 20 players seeking success on the international stage.
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Some of the players are students, some of them work full-time, some part-time.
The team have been crowdfunding to help to cover costs such as travel, accommodation and competition expenses.
One of the players in the squad is 30-year-old Rhodri Furlong, who combines his hockey aspirations with his job at the Morriston Hospital.
On top of that, Furlong juggles his responsibilities as a father to his son Max, "the ultimate distraction".
"I try to compartmentalise and separate the different things that are required of me," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"I write a lot of to-do lists, I tend to think many weeks in advance.
"Preparing for tournaments is a particularly challenging period but with the help of Emma my fiancée, I think we're doing a pretty good job at the moment.
"Before May of this year Max wasn't a very good sleeper so that was particularly challenging but sort of just persevered.
"I knew that along the line things would improve eventually and thankfully we're there now."
Furlong says being a father has provided him with new perspectives on his hockey.
"I think it's easier or it's definitely a lot easier to step away," he added.
"If I play well or I play badly, Max doesn't care, he just wants to play.
"That's particularly useful when maybe I haven't performed at the level that I'd like to."
And Furlong says his play on the pitch has improved too since fatherhood.
"If anything, I think having him has probably improved my performances," he said.
"I don't overthink anymore, I just turn up and I play hockey because I enjoy it.
"I play with more freedom."
He paid tribute to the efforts of his fiancée Emma.
"She's a huge supporter of everything that I do," he added.
"I couldn't play hockey for Wales, manage a full-time job and be a father without her support and the support of our wider family.
"I'm very, very grateful for everything that I've got there."
Hospitals and hockey pitches
In his working life, Furlong is the lead clinical vascular scientist at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, in a patient-facing role.
"I'm basically tasked with diagnosing various vascular conditions, predominantly with non-invasive tests and imaging modalities (technology used to take pictures of the inside of the body)," he said.
"There's a lot of ultrasound and I work very closely with the vascular surgeons, with the interventional radiology guys, stroke teams and renal teams.
"My day is sort of seeing patients, assessing them, writing reports and making diagnoses."
So how does he fit it all in?
"Normally I get up around 06:00, I train in the morning, I'll see Max just before I go to work then I work 08:00 until 18:00," he explained.
"I'll head home as soon as I can so I can see him before bed and then I'll either go on to hockey training or I'll potentially do top-up running depending on what has been programmed for that week so it's pretty busy."
Rather than analysing blood flow in the hospital this week, Furlong will be getting the blood pumping as he swaps the hospital for the hockey pitch.
A family affair in Amsterdam
Rhodri's brother Gareth scored from two penalty corners against Poland as Wales secured their World Cup spot [World Sport Pics]Furlong will be competing for Wales alongside his brother Gareth at the World Cup.
"We actually do get on very, very well," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"We've obviously got a different relationship from the other boys in the team because we are brothers.
"Sometimes that means that things boil over in the way that we talk to each other.
"Maybe you wouldn't talk to other teammates like that.
"But because we're brothers and we've been doing it for over three decades, everything's soon forgotten and we crack on.
"It's been a pleasure playing alongside him for so long and I'm looking forward to continuing that at the World Cup."
Wales warmed up for the tournament with a clean sweep of victories against Chile in Cardiff, winning three Tests 5-1, 5-1 and 1-0 in the Welsh capital.
With a daunting run of pool fixtures for Wales, Furlong insists the team are excited for the task ahead.
"The pressure is definitely going to be on in the World Cup because every game is going to be a difficult game," he added.
"I think they all [India, Pakistan and England] present three distinct challenges.
"We've got every confidence that we can go and if we perform properly, we've shown in the past that we can compete and go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world."
He says the roller coaster nature of their qualification in Chile in March should serve them well in the Netherlands this month.
"There's a lot of positives that we can take from Chile, even though it probably wasn't perfect," he said.
"It's just about doing that consistently and that's what we've been working really hard on in this summer block.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do when we get out there.
"We've got a strong squad with a very healthy mix of guys who've been around for over a decade and then younger players coming through, bringing energy, bringing new ideas, new skills."
Despite the delicate balancing act of Furlong's sporting, academic and family life, he says playing for Wales has been "the pinnacle of sport".
"Everybody is incredibly proud to pull on the shirt and given how difficult it is to get to these major tournaments, when you do get there, it's really special," he added.
"It's not easy to maintain a full-time job, to be a father and to play hockey for Wales.
"It's been very challenging at times but it means a great deal to me and it's something that I wouldn't easily let go of.
"It means everything."
Wales men squad
Toby Reynolds-Cotterill (GK), Rhys Payne (GK), Daniel Kyriakides, Hywel Jones, Gareth Furlong (C), Alf Dinnie, Jacob Draper (C), Rhodri Furlong, Dale Hutchinson, Rhys Bradshaw, Fred Newbold, Gareth Griffiths, Ben Francis (C), Nic Morgan, Jack Pritchard, Jolyon Morgan, Sam Welsh, Jonny Fleck, James Tyson, Liam Barker.
Men's Hockey World Cup Pool D fixtures
Saturday, 15 August
India v Wales (12:00 BST)
England v Pakistan (18:00 BST)
Monday, 17 Aug August
Pakistan v Wales (11:30 BST)
India v England (14:00 BST)
Wednesday, 19 August
England v Wales (11:30 BST)
Pakistan v India (14:00 BST)