Maddie Hinch has been the Great Britain and England number one goalkeeper since 2013 and in that time has built a reputation as a goalkeeper for whom preparation is key. So there is little surprise that she has studied Great Britain’s next opponents in the FIH Hockey Pro League, the USA, to the best of her ability.
However, a lengthy break from international action means that every team could spring a surprise and, with a new Head Coach at the helm, Hinch is aware that the USA could pose a real threat to Great Britain’s growing momentum.
“There are a lot of new faces in the USA team, but they are a side that bring a huge amount of energy and a huge work effort. They are not going to make it easy for us, so we need to focus on our processes and stick to our game plan and not get drawn into a physical battle because they are a strong side that will just keep growing.”
Great Britain currently sit in sixth place in the FIH Hockey Pro League, with the USA team three places below in ninth place. This weekend’s matches provide a chance for Great Britain to both consolidate their position in the league and to build on the core strategies the team will be taking to the EuroHockey Championships and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in just a few weeks time.
“We learnt plenty in our matches against Germany,” says Hinch [Great Britain lost the first match and won the second]. Firstly, it was great to be back at Lee Valley. I personally hadn’t played an international for 15 months so I was really glad to be back. The loss in the first match was a bit of a wake-up call and the second game saw us play much better. We need to work on that consistency, but it is huge for us to be playing matches as we come into Tokyo.
“In the second game, to keep it to zero was massive for us. If I am being honest, we haven’t been great defensively of late, so that was good. We are now getting stronger and stronger defensively. I also think our attitude to win the ball and impose ourselves on the game was really good and that is important for us. We can’t just sit back and wait for moments, we need to believe that we can go at teams.
“On reflection, we had a lot of opportunities to score so we must do better there, because in the big games those opportunities won’t come along that often.’
As a relative veteran of the team, Hinch has observed just how her younger team mates have been growing into their roles within the squad.
“We have a really young group but now you can see the growth and belief in the players. But, if there is one thing I have learnt, it is that what goes on in your head is so important. We must believe in our processes and structures and have confidence in what we are doing.”
For the last two FIH Hockey Pro League matches, the national governing body England Hockey have enabled a small number of spectators – all family and friends of the players. For Hinch, having a crowd, albeit a small one, is going to add to the occasion.
“It is going to be so nice to have people in the crowds. It means so much to our parents to see us play before Tokyo, so it will be a very special weekend.”
While Hinch will be aware of her parents in the crowd, there is no doubt that at the forefront of the Olympic gold medallist, thrice FIH Goalkeeper of the Year’s and self-confessed perfectionist’s mind will be how these matches can prepare the squad for the bigger challenges to come.
“Learning how to win is massive. And we have to take very game as an opportunity to grow. Through these matches, we will be establishing connections across the pitch and we will go to Japan absolutely certain of what our roles and structures are.”
You can watch her full interview here.
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