Two young women making their way in the Vitality Women's Hockey League

On International Day of the Girl, Rod Gilmour of The Hockey Paper hears from two young players making their own way in hockey.

“It is amazing really. I am still 15 and to be alongside team-mates who have been playing for ages and to get in the team within a few seasons is just great.”

So says Erica Woodcock, a rising teen who broke into Doncaster women’s 1s this season, marking her National League debut by finishing off a superb team goal against Didsbury.

It marked a near 10-year journey to playing 1s hockey after Erica first started playing at Hill House School, Doncaster, aged six. This early insight into the sport also left her wanting more and she was soon to join Doncaster HC.

There was early disappointment when not selected for the North East regionals, yet here was a moment which also helped shape her character as a fledgling 12-year-old.

“This made her resilient, determined to work harder and progress her skills,” says her mother, Emma. It paid off, too. In 2019, she was first selected for the South Yorkshire squad.

In the 2021/22 season, she represented Yorkshire and when junior hockey didn’t initially resume after Covid, Erica was asked to step up to senior level and play for the women’s 4s, before moving up to Donny’s second XI last year.

“I was settling in and thinking I would spend a few seasons here,” says Erica of her experience in the 2s. But there was no time to bed in as she was soon witnessing the higher standards of training with the 1s before being selected for the first time two weeks ago in her Vitality Women's Conference North debut.

“It was a bit nerve wracking,” she admits of the experience. “But I scored and all the team celebrating really boosted my confidence and I really enjoyed it.”

Erica also recently accepted the honour of being sponsored by the Andy Gibson Foundation for this season, as the youngest member of the women’s 1s. She also recently secured a place for one of England Hockey's new Talent Academy, with weekly training on Monday nights.

Now, she wants her best friend, Lexie Martin, to follow in her footsteps. “She is following behind me hopefully," says Erica. "If she perseveres I think she can be with us next year. She is in the 2s and playing matches weekly just like I did. Perseverance is key.”

Further south and further along with her hockey journey, Lexie Spurr invests most of her time into the sport. “My life is at a hockey pitch,” smiles the 20-year-old Oxford Brookes student.

Lexie currently plays for her university side, as well as with Oxford Hawks women’s 1s, while her clear passion for hockey came via her family, albeit fortuitously.

In a bid to separate the siblings from playing together on every sports team going, her mum initially didn’t want Lexie to play hockey. While she was state educated, Jemima, her older sister by three years, was at a private school. But when nerves hit attending a first session with her local club, Lexie was asked to go along with her sister as support.

And she hasn’t looked back. She soon attended multiple hockey camps and 'probably annoyed coaches along the way,' but was soon playing under-16s hockey as an 11-year-old. 

Now, alongside her studying and playing commitments, she also coaches Hawks’ under-8s where she makes the eager juniors hold a stick properly, as well as the more competitive nature of the under-14s girls. Meanwhile, both Spurr sisters now play for Hawks 1s together.

Lexie also recognises the empowerment of coaching and what this brings to the younger female players at the Oxfordshire club.

She says: “One of my favourite parts of coaching is when some of the kids watch England or Great Britain and they talk about the game or if I say I’ve actually played with some of them. Their eyes just light up.”

The relatively small bubble in hockey means that dreams are achievable in this sport. “It is a reachable goal as they can see it happening,” adds Lexi.

While the genetics and genomics student admits that playing for her country may now be beyond her - she was a Performance Centre player until she was 18 - one goal still exists: playing in the Vitality Women’s Premier Division. Let's hope her love and dedication for the sport gets her there.