Hockey Olympian inspires young players

Published on isbi School News dated Friday 1st of June 2012

Hannah Macleod, a Team Ealing Ambassador, dropped in on Friday 18th May at St Benedict's School playing fields, where Ealing's Youth Hockey squad were busy training for the London Youth Games in July. The new all-weather pitch at Perivale has been the venue for Ealing Youth Hockey since March. It was a special day, not just for the girls and boys but also for Hannah. Earlier in the day the GB Hockey team was officially announced and Hannah had received the news that she had been waiting for she had been selected!

Hannah gave some useful coaching tips but, more than anything else, seeing a real Olympian and meeting her face to face was inspirational for the young people. Ben Hagreen, Sports Development Officer at the London Borough of Ealing, said: 'Hannah is a wonderful role model for our hockey players. We have some very talented youngsters and it would be wonderful to see them follow Hannah's example and develop into top sports men and women in the future.'

Fourteen year olds Monica Clifford, Shauna Kelly and Miranda Pattison-Hudd, pupils and keen hockey players at St Benedict's School, were lucky enough to have a longer conversation with Hannah. They were very impressed: 'She has achieved so much and she started small, just like us.'

Hockey is a new sport at St Benedict's and both boys and girls have just completed their first season. It's a steep learning curve but there's huge enthusiasm in the squads and tremendous team spirit. The new Head of Hockey, Nikki Woodroffe, herself an ex-England hockey player, has really fired up the pupils and made a huge impact at the school.