Hockey
We thought it would be incredibly inspiring for you all to read about 12 year old Lilly Holmes in this month’s hockey article as well as see some GB Hockey skills you could try too.
Lilly loves hockey so much that lockdown was not going to stop her playing her favourite sport.
We hope that you all find a sport that you enjoy as much as Lilly enjoys hockey.
A GREAT START
Lilly has been playing hockey since the age of 7 when she first joined her local club, Clifton Robinsons, in Bristol.
By the age of 9 she was playing for their U10 County and Regional Team taking part in local and England Hockey fixtures.
Her love for Hockey really started to grow when she watched the GB Ladies Hockey Team take the Gold Medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
IMPRESSIVE SCHOOL TEAM
Lilly also plays hockey for her school team at Redmaids High School who were crowned County and Regional U13 Champions this year and were due to go to the National Finals in March which was sadly cancelled due to Covid.
LOCKDOWN PLAN
When Covid restrictions hit, Lilly decided to put her time at home to good use. She started recording a daily Covid Hockey video to Twitter to share what she had been up to.
Daily skills started simple with drills like learning to aerial over a ladder, homemade obstacle courses, moving on to teaching herself through videos how to drag flick.
SPOTTED BY ENGLAND HOCKEY
By day 100 she caught the eye of England Hockey who not only celebrated her achievements and commitment on their social media sites but then ran a week long special of some of her daily challenges. One of their posts received over 40,000 views!
Lilly says, “Just because I couldn’t go out and play hockey matches or go to training didn’t mean I had to stop practising or improving my skills. I wanted to come out of lockdown more skilled and a stronger player than before it started. It also gave me something to focus on and ensured I took part in daily exercise. Rain or shine I spent at least an hour a day playing hockey keeping focused and having fun and working on my fitness.”
BACK TO TRAINING
On day 137 England Hockey moved to stage 4 which meant groups of players could once again come together to play games which was when Lilly decided to stop her daily challenges as was finally able to get out and start training with local coaches and friends.
Lilly attended several hockey camps over the summer holidays and was lucky enough to spend a week playing Hockey in Holland. These camps are a great place to meet other like minded players and have a lot of fun playing hockey.
Lilly is still working hard as she has been selected for Player Pathway Performance Centre Trials taking place in November.
TOP TIPS FROM LILLY
Practising hockey is never hard work as I enjoy it so much.
Find a sport that you love and then you will find the time to practise and improve your skills. You don’t need lots of equipment just some imagination and lots of enthusiasm.
With thanks to Lilly Holmes for the article and videos and Hockey GB for the use of their videos in this article.
