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Ripon pupil captains England hockey team

Tuesday, 1 October 2024 07:00

Olly Pollock captained England at the biennial School Games National Finals.

A Ripon Grammar School hockey player has cemented himself as a star of the future after captaining the England team in a prestigious national tournament.

17-year-old Olly Pollock, who is from Thirsk, was selected to represent his country at the biennial School Games National Finals.

They are designed for aspiring UK athletes and offer a taste of the high-pressure environment they might expect at the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.

Across four days of incredible sporting action, 1,500 elite athletes took part in 11 different sports across the Loughborough University campus and beyond, featuring the most promising youngsters in the country.

And, lining up against teams from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, Olly captained the England team in the Gold Medal Match which, sadly after a thrilling 4-4 full time game versus Ulster, went to shuffles which they only just lost on sudden death.

But the teenager, who dreams of getting into the England men’s team one day, said he was still "super happy" to win silver.

As well as representing his school in rugby and cricket, Olly plays for the men’s Durham University Hockey Club.

He played for the Pennine Pumas in the England Hockey Futures Cup two years ago, while also being selected to represent the Durham Talent Academy at the England Hockey Talent Academy Festival for the last two years' running.

Olly is studying for a diploma in sporting excellence (DiSE) – open to students playing sport to County and England levels – at Loughborough University alongside studying for three A-Levels.

The School Games National Finals is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust and National Governing Bodies, hosted by Loughborough University and funded by Sport England and players of the National Lottery.

The event is backed by all the Home Country Sports Councils, UK Sport, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Department for Healthy and Social Care. Previous participants have gone on to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics.

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