Hockey's Olympic build up boosted by Scottish Institute support
Thursday 10 February 2000
Six Scottish players currently competing for selection for the GB Olympic Hockey Team have received a boost in their preparations with the announcement of their selection for the Scottish Institute of Sport.
The five women and one man are part of a group of 27 top Scots at Senior and U21 level who have been chosen to benefit from a wide ranging programme of support services aimed at helping them achieve greater success at international level.
“Investment in today’s athletes represent the first step on that journey to the podium.”
The group range from the highly experienced Janet Jack (who recently captained the GB team against the USA) and Rhona Simpson (who scored 5 goals on the recent GB tour in South Africa) to emerging talents such as Laurence Docherty (currently the only Scot in the GB Men’s squad) and Susan Gilmour who is currently developing her skills in Germany following periods in Holland and Australia.
Anne Marie Harrison, Executive Director of the Scottish Institute of Sport, comments, “Our task is to help make Scotland’s best athletes even better.
“Through the Institute we are putting in place not just a support mechanism, but also a huge cultural change in the way we develop and plan for success. This is a longer term approach, the results of which will really begin to be seen in the years ahead.
“Investment in today’s athletes represent the first step on that journey to the podium.”
Steve Colledge, National High Performance Coach for Hockey at the Institute, comments, “Scotland’s Women’s Team has been a particular success story in recent years, and with the Institute’s help can go even further.
“With the men there has been a quiet rebuilding going on focused on developing the next generation which is on the edge of bearing fruit. This year will see an emphasis on preparing these players for the Men’s Junior European Cup in Spain in July which is a direct qualifier for the Junior World Cup in 2001 and is seen as a catalyst for future development.
“The group of Institute athletes announced today will be able to access individually focused support and training programmes through which we will be looking to develop their overall skill levels and make them more rounded athletes.”
Steve joined the Scottish Institute in September 1999 from the Western Australian Institute of Sport where he was Head Coach with the Women’s Hockey Programme. As an international player, he represented Australia from 1978 to 1985 during which time they won six Champions Trophies.
Peter Monaghan, Chairman of the Scottish Hockey Union, adds, “With our new National Training and Competition Centre just completed at Peffermill, and the support of the Institute in helping our most promising athletes to develop, I believe we are at the beginning of a new era which will see Scotland becoming a major world force in both Men’s and Women’s hockey.”
- A full list of the 27 athletes announced today is below.
- Scotland’s Women are currently ranked 10th in the World and Men, 21st.
- The seven core sports in the initial phase of the Institute are: Athletics, Badminton, Curling, Football, Hockey, Rugby and Swimming. In addition, the very top Scots performers from other sports have been identified and are being invited to be part of the Institute and its programmes.
- The 27 hockey athletes join: 20 top Scots from athletics (including Liz McColgan and Allison Curbishley); 5 from judo (including World Champion Graeme Randall); 18 swimmers (including Olympic medallist Graeme Smith and Commonwealth medallist, Alison Sheppard); 13 badminton players (including European Olympic Youth Games gold and silver medallists, Fiona Sneddon and Robert Blair) and 32 curlers (including the current Men’s World Champions skipped by Hammy McMillan) who have so far been announced.
- The redevelopment of Peffermill, funded by the sportscotland Lottery Fund, included the resurfacing of the existing artificial pitch and the construction of a second pitch, a training track, spectator grandstand, and improved car parking and access.
- The development provided Scottish Hockey with high quality facilities for delivering their youth programmes, developing coaches, teachers and officials, and facilities for staging international and domestic events.
- Peffermill will host a special SHU Centenary Four Nations International in June 2000, involving the top nations of Holland, Spain and Ireland, and will be the venue for the hockey competition at the forthcoming Millennium Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh in August 2000.
- The Scottish Institute of Sport will be part of the United Kingdom Sports Institute HQ, ensuring Scottish athletes have access to the very best support wherever they are based.
SCOTTISH INSTITUTE OF SPORT ATHLETES
HOCKEY PROFILES (27 athletes)
WOMEN
Scotland’s international prospects in women’s hockey are extremely bright, ranked sixth in Europe, and in the Top Ten in the world rankings. Six Scottish players trained with the Great Britain squad during the winter.
Tracey Robb, age 29
Scotland’s international goalkeeper, with more than 100 outdoor caps, and a member of the GB squad which played in a pre-Olympic tournament in Spain last month. Tracey is a solicitor in Aberdeen, and commutes each weekend to play for the Glasgow Western club though, because of their dominance in the domestic leagues, she has to demonstrate her skills only rarely.
Katie Goldsack, 26
One of the brightest goalkeeping talents in Scotland, who often keeps her club side MIM Edinburgh RHG in the game, Katie is a member of the Great Britain youth development squad as well as a regular senior Scottish internationalist.
Janet Jack, 36
Just returned from the GB pre-Olympic tour to South Africa where she played in three of the games against the hosts and Holland, Janet is the oldest player in the Institute’s hockey squads, with 162 Scottish caps. The Scottish Player of the Year in 1999, she lives near Jedburgh in the Borders and is one of the most reliable defenders around, contributing significantly to the remarkable success of Grange Edinburgh Ladies in recent years.
Emma Rochlin, 21
A law student at Glasgow University, Emma was one of the younger players to be brought into this year’s GB training squad. She is also a member of Scotland’s senior squad, the Young Player of the Year in 1999, and a key defender for Scotland’s indoor and outdoor champions Glasgow Western. Her boyfriend is Alan Bulloch, a member of Scotland’s rugby squad.
Louise Carroll, 17
A pupil of Dundee High School, and the youngest member of the Institute’s hockey squad, Louise is a fast-maturing defender with Bonagrass Grove and a member of Scotland’s U21 and the GB youth squads.
Louise Gordon, 19
Another Scottish international senior and U21 defender and GB youth squad member, she has just returned from Vienna where she made her debut for Scotland’s international indoor side. A latecomer to elite hockey, Louise is studying geography, biology and chemistry at Glasgow University, and plays for the Glasgow Western club.
Jaclyn (Jackie) Fortune, 17
While her home is in Greenock, Jaclyn plays for Giffnock-Hutchesons in Glasgow and can be found roaming the midfield defence. A member of the U21 Scottish squad, Jaclyn is a product of the SHU’s youth development system, and won a NPFA award last year.
Cheryl Valentine, 19
A member of the GB youth squad, this central midfield playmaker was a member of Scotland’s indoor side which came fourth in Europe two weeks ago in Vienna. A leading player with the U21 Scottish squad, Cheryl is studying physiotherapy at Edinburgh University and is one of the most creative and influential members of her Bonagrass Grove team.
Susan Gilmour, 26
One of a clutch of Scottish players who have moved abroad to improve their hockey, Susan has experience in Australia and Holland but currently plays in the German Bundesliga for the Rottweiss club in Cologne. Indeed, scoring the winning goal for that club last Easter, she became the first Scottish woman to win a European hockey gold medal! A midfielder who moves easily into attack, Susan as approaching her 100th cap and previously played in her home city for Edinburgh Ladies, where she was a hockey development officer.
Julia Wilson, 19
Julia is one of the brightest young prospects in the Scottish game, another member of the prolific Glasgow Western club who, having already made her outdoor debut, played her first senior hockey indoors in Vienna recently. A midfielder who likes to attack, Julia is a sports science student at Strathclyde University, and her home is in Bearsden.
Rhona Simpson, 27
Also just returned from the successful GB tour to South Africa, where she scored five goals, Rhona is one of the most exciting strikers in British hockey. Renowned as an explosive hitter inside the circle, with superb positional instincts at short range, she is the only member of the Institute squad with Olympic experience, having played in Atlanta. A PE teacher at Hutchesons’ Grammar School, Rhona plays for Grange Edinburgh Ladies, and has 96 caps. She returned to the game in May after a year recovering from a serious cruciate ligament injury, and continues to play with her right knee in a heavy brace.
Angela Gallen, 19
A versatile player who is equally at home in defence or attack, Angela is captain of Scotland’s talented U21 squad, and returned recently from Vienna where she played for Scotland’s senior indoor squad. Angela is a business studies student at Strathclyde University and is romantically attached to another member of the Institute squad announced today, Laurence Docherty.
Alison Grant, 27
The third Institute recruit from the Grange Edinburgh Ladies club, Alison lives in Galashiels and is an established member of Scotland’s senior international team with more than 50 caps. A striker who can also be relied on to cover in the midfield area, she is a PE teacher in the Borders.
MEN
Scotland’s men are not as high in the European or world rankings as the women, but there are already distinct signs of a revival after a very successful tour to the USA and Canada last summer.
David Braithwaite, 26
A regular member of Scotland’s international squad, David is a goalkeeper from Dundee who plays for the Menzieshill club.
Alistair McGregor, 18
The most northerly resident of the Institute squad, hailing from Ellon in Aberdeenshire, Alistair is a student at Edinburgh University, and currently plays his hockey for the university team. Possibly the most talented young goalkeeper in the Scottish game, he joined the national U21 and GB youth development squads last year.
Graham Dunlop, 23
A PE teacher at Hutchesons’ Grammar School, next to the Clydesdale club he grew up in, Graham now plays for the Milngavie-based Western club. A reliable midfielder, Graham enjoyed a good tour with Scotland’s senior squad in North America last summer. He is also not a bad cricketer, and turns out for a variety of Clydesdale teams at odd intervals through the summer.
Phil Webster, 25
One of four members of the Institute Men’s squad to have emigrated, at least temporarily, to improve his hockey, midfielder Phil plays for the top Dutch club Klein Zwitzerland. Previously with the Aberdeen Gordonians club.
Calum Wood, 26
Another ex-Gordonians emigre to Klein Zwitzerland, Calum is a right defender who was a member of the original GB training pool last year. He has been a regular in the Scotland squad for many years and, with some spectacular stick skills, is potentially one of Scotland’s most exciting players.
Alan Johnston, 20
Younger of two Dundee Wanderers brothers, Alan is a right-side player who roams the midfield defence. He is a member of Scotland’s U21 squad.
Mike Leonard, 24
Scotland’s current senior international captain and a member of the Grange club in Edinburgh, Mike is an imposing figure who likes to control the game from his favourite right defensive position and is one of the best readers of the game in Scotland, with exceptional interception and tackling skills. He is also the proud possessor of six Scotland B XI caps at cricket, a sport to which he may eventually return in due course.
David Mitchell, 18
One of Scotland’s brightest hockey prospects, the midfielder joined the national U21 and GB youth squads last year. He is a product of the Division 2 Motherwell club, for whom his brother Chris also plays, and has come through the SHU’s youth ladder, highly praised for his captaincy of the U18 team last year.
Mark Ralph, 20
The midfield playmaker of the Kelburne club and an influential member of Scotland’s U21 side, Mark is a corner and penalty stroke specialist who is among the top goal-scorers in the country. He celebrates his selection for the Institute squad on his 20th birthday.
Vishal Marwaha, 23
A member of the senior international side and the GB youth development squad, Vishal is a left-side player whose exceptional Asian-style stickwork and ball skills enable him to take the game from deep midfield into the opposition circle. He, too, came through the SHU’s age-group system and was identified as a potential internationalist at an early age.
Niall Stott, 19
Possibly Scotland’s most exciting young hockey talent, with proven goal-scoring and match-winning prowess. He toured the USA and Canada with Scotland’s senior squad last summer, and joined the GB youth squad. With a tremendous ability to drive into the circle, he is jointly the country’s leading goal-scorer indoors (22 up to last weekend). Niall originally played ice hockey, but has quickly risen to the top with the success of Dundee Wanderers in recent seasons.
Laurence Docherty, 19
In a bid to boost his chances of selection for Great Britain, Laurence left MIM Edinburgh RHG last spring to play for Frankfurt 1880 in the German Bundesliga in the summer. Returning to play for Southgate in the English league during the autumn, he is the only Scot to have trained this winter with the GB men’s squad, but his hopes of going to Sydney 2000 have since faded along with Southgate’s poor performances this season. Laurence, a predatory striker, has played for Scotland at senior level and captained the U21 side.
Graham Joyce, 24
This season, Graham returned from a year with leading Dutch club Klein Zwitzerland to play for his ‘native’ Western as they push for their fourth successive national league title. A strong hitter of the ball, Graham is a focused hockey player and an established member of Scotland’s international side.
Andrew Sewnauth, 17
Andrew, who lives in Bearsden, represents the next generation of Scottish hockey players. Another successful product of the Western youth coaching set-up, he played in Scotland’s U18 and U21 sides last year and is the youngest member of the men’s Institute squad.