Inspiring People is Why We Play for England

As we reflect on what has been a fantastic summer of hockey, we often hear of the inspiration that our success has on the hockey community and the nation. But as we gear up for the start of the club season, we find ourselves inspired by the dedication and support of so many people to make hockey what it is today. We, like you, want to lend a hand to grow the game and make sure as many people of all backgrounds and abilities have the chance to play.  

Last week, we wrote an open letter to the future Prime Minister calling for support to prioritise team sports for children, and to invest in school team sports to build on the legacy of Birmingham 2022. It is an important message and everyone in the men’s and women’s squads feels passionately about giving all children the opportunity to play hockey.  

The response to the letter was very positive – showing how important school sport and PE is for many people across the country. Questions were asked about the squads’ education and background and how our pathway to success was created. We know there’s a perception that elite hockey players developed their game through private schools but 45% of the women’s Commonwealth Games team and 45% of the men’s team were state educated. A further 25% of the men’s team and 10% of the women’s team started their education in state schools and moved to private schools, some through scholarships.

But we know we too need to do more to ensure more children of all backgrounds and abilities have the chance to play, so England Hockey has implemented several changes at a local and national level to grow and diversify the sport, and we’re lending our support to make sure these plans become a reality. 

England Hockey has recently launched a free schools membership offer which provides lots of support for schools and teachers to help them deliver and develop hockey within their school in a fun, safe, and enjoyable way. Our aim is to increase the reach of the sport in schools, and we hope the Government take action to support PE and school sport more too.   

For the past two years, England Hockey has been leading a new talent system with the purpose of producing greater breadth and depth in the talent pool via hockey clubs and schools, and in turn broadening the diversity of our international teams.  The new system will bring more ethnic and culturally diverse participants into the sport from different backgrounds and a more flexible talent pathway, allowing more people to have the opportunity to find their way towards the elite end of the game.   

Against the backdrop of the Commonwealth Games, we’re encouraging more people to try the sport, particularly in the Midlands. There are several projects underway, and last week we shared the new partnership we have with the Muslim Sports Foundation enabling Muslim girls in the Midlands to play hockey regularly for the first time.

England Hockey has worked with local clubs to ensure hockey has a presence at 19 School Games events and over 30 local community events in and around the Birmingham area over the past 4 months, giving hundreds of people the chance to try the sport. We are also working with Street Games to deliver hockey as part of Holiday Activity and Food programmes within 15 locations in Birmingham over the current school summer holidays.  This is in addition to us working closely with 12 clubs in Birmingham and the West Midlands to extend their delivery within their local community, supporting them to reach previously under-served groups such as lower socio-economic groups, ethnic and culturally diverse communities, and those with long term health conditions.

England Hockey is also working with Sport England to deliver two targeted interventions, one for clubs and one for coaches from diverse backgrounds. The programme - running for the next three years - will hopefully help roll out other projects across the country.   

We know there is more we collectively need to do to make sure opportunities continue for more people to take part in our sport.  So, as we look ahead to the new season, we’re calling on clubs across the country to promote opportunities to try hockey. The #PickUpAStick campaign supports and encourages clubs to offer different ways to play and think about how they can retain existing members and reach new players within their local community.  

There are lots of ways to encourage people to join your club, and you can find more information here.  

We’d love to hear all about your amazing efforts to get people of all backgrounds and abilities playing hockey, so please share your stories with us on Instagram or Twitter @englandhockey.  

The Commonwealth Games gave us a chance to showcase our sport and show why we love it. Hopefully together we can inspire more people to pick up a stick at your clubs and play the game we love so much.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to do our best to represent England at the top of the game.  

The Men’s and Women’s England Squads