4 March 2021
Olivia, Year 9
Woldingham sport scholars were really lucky to have an online session with GB hockey player Holly Hunt on Tuesday 2 March. Holly gave a very inspiring talk about her hockey career and how she managed to balance schoolwork with a very demanding sport schedule. It was very helpful as she gave us some tips and tricks. These included making a colourful schedule on a Sunday afternoon to see what the week ahead looks like in terms of how much school work and hockey you have so you are able to prepare for it, and to make sure your homework is done on the day it is set so that it doesn’t pile up and cause stress. She also told us it is very important to ask for help and guidance from coaches or teachers if you are struggling or feeling exhausted or overwhelmed in any way. Another top tip from Holly was that “you can always work hard and you can always run”.
It was incredible to hear how much hard work you need to put in, but it was clearly worth it though, as Holly now plays at a really high level including England under 21s and the senior GB squad and she is thoroughly enjoying it. What a proud moment for her to be asked to join the senior GB squad. Holly has made very good hockey friends too through playing for her club, school, county and university and this has made her learning experience much more enjoyable.
We all really enjoyed this great opportunity to listen to and speak with such a brilliant athlete. Holly has definitely inspired me to work even harder and reach my hockey goals. It was an amazing experience and it gave me lots of good ideas on how to manage my hockey and schoolwork and also how to manage nerves before a big game!