Human Interest |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Maidenhead, ENG |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Holcombe: Rochester, ENG |
Name of coach |
Kevin Johnson [club]; Danny Kerry [national], GBR |
Preferred position / style / stance / technique |
Defender |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
General Interest |
Other information |
COACH She has coached for One-Hockey across the United Kingdom and at Reading Hockey Club in England. (one-hockey.com, 10 Sep 2012; dailyrecord.co.uk, 04 Jul 2013)
THANKS On being selected for the Great Britain squad for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she sent a letter to her first hockey club, Kelburne in Paisley, Scotland, thanking the club and its members for their contribution to her international career. "So many Kelburne members have made hockey a rewarding and enjoyable experience for me. It is those we play with that make team sport what it is. Thank you so much for the Kelburne experience." (kelburne.com, 23 Jun 2012)
ACCIDENTAL OLYMPIAN Just a few months after she graduated from Glasgow University in 2009, the Great Britain hockey team became a fully-funded programme and she was invited to become a full-time hockey player. She played for Scotland in the European Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, then moved to England to join up with the rest of the new squad. "I never thought about playing hockey as a career when I was growing up. When the GB programme was centralised in 2009 that was the first time it had been done, so before that it hadn't been an option. Until then, becoming a professional hockey player had never crossed my mind. Things like the Olympics weren't on the radar. I was just at uni and looking to get a proper job when I finished. So I got really lucky with the timing. It's crazy when you think about it.” (heraldscotland.com, 08 Aug 2015) |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Mathematics, Statistics - University of Glasgow: Scotland |
General Interest |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (Twitter profile, 27 Apr 2016) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
The family home was a short walk from the Kelburne Hockey Club, and her older brother Paul played the sport. |
General Interest |
Hero / Idol |
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. (greatbritainhockey.co.uk, 09 Aug 2012) |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and after she has finished playing hockey to pursue a career in finance. (scottish-hockey.org.uk, 12 Sep 2012; damekellyholmestrust.org, 17 Oct 2013) |
Awards and honours |
She received an Order of Merit at the 2013 Scottish Hockey Awards. (scottish-hockey.org.uk, 01 Dec 2013) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began playing hockey at age five at the Kelburne Hockey Club in Paisley, Scotland. |
International Debut |
Year |
2009 |
Competing for |
Great Britain |
Opponent |
Argentina |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Don't count the days, make the days count." (greatbritainhockey.co.uk, 09 Aug 2012)
"Every job has its ups and downs, but I love being able to play hockey. What we do is so unique and you can only do it for a short amount of time. Whatever has been thrown at us on a hockey pitch, you know that the girl standing next to you is going to be able to deal with it. There's nothing quite like that." (telegraph.co.uk, 11 Jun 2015) |