Hockey training with GB International

On Tuesday after school a group of girls from Year 6 to Year 10 made the most of an exciting opportunity to take part in a hockey training session with GB Men’s Hockey player, Ian Sloan.

Ian started playing hockey at school, before winning various honours with his home-town club and moving into Ireland’s Under-18s. He was soon fast-tracked into the senior international team, where he won 21 caps. Ian subsequently declared for England and Great Britain and was the youngest player in the squad at Rio in his first Olympics last year.

The session at Pipers was a family affair as Ian was joined by his mother, Adele Sloan, herself an ex-Irish Women’s International.

Ian and Adele put the girls through their paces as they completed some fitness drills before focussing on specific skills including ball control, passing, attacking and defensive tactics. Throughout the session the girls also had the opportunity to put their skills into action with time for game play.

At the end of the training the girls had the chance to have a Q&A with Ian where they were able to ask him about what it was like to be in the GB team, how it felt playing in Rio and what he enjoys most about the game.

The activity certainly helped the girls to gain a sense of what it would be like to be part of an extra-curricular hockey club and the many benefits that can be gained by participating in team sports.