The EuroHockey Institute Podcast

In this episode, we delve into the inspiring journey of Marlena Rybacha, the trailblazing captain of Poland’s national field hockey teams. Marlena shares how her determination led her to the Netherlands, Marlena’s perseverance earned her a spot on the team, marking the beginning of her influential presence in European hockey en route, eventually, to Indoor World Cup gold. Join us as Marlena discusses the challenges she faced, the cultural transitions she navigated, and how her experiences have shaped her both as an athlete and as a person.

In this months episode, former Irish hockey player Matthew Bell shares how hockey became his lifeline after a devastating brain cancer diagnosis in 2019. From early symptoms to a remarkable recovery, he reflects on resilience, the power of sport, and the support that helped him through.You can purchase his book here; https://excaliburpress.co.uk/product/second-chances-by-matthew-bell/

To begin the 2024 series of EuroHockey Institute podcasts, Jack Rolfe speaks to Tom Kirby about his journey since his first taste of Hockey ID eight years ago to travelling around the continent, embracing a number of EuroHockey ID championships and all the laughs in between. They talk about what are key parts of an inclusive coaching session and how does an organisation create opportunities for Hockey ID players.

Emily Defroand, the former England and Great Britain players shares how her school experience shaped her both on and off the field en route to Euro and Commonwealth bronze medals. From developing her hockey skills to gaining an outlook on life inspired by her family, Emily reflects on the profound role sports play in her personal growth. Today in her working life with West Ham United Football Club's communications crew, she applies the lessons of teamwork, resilience, and leadership gained as an athlete to her professional career, proving that sport is about much more than what happens on the pitch.

Joost van Geel is November's feature interview on the EuroHockey Institute Podcast, speaking to Jack Rolfe about elite performance. Joost is an experienced leader in sports management and talent development, currently working with NOC*NSF and TeamNL. Before that, he has held a number of roles at the highest level of Dutch hockey, including national indoor coach and seven years - up until earlier this year - as the KNHB performance manager. With over a decade of expertise, he specialises in coaching, leadership training, and building development programs for athletes, coaches and organisations. He has also founded his own consultancy, delivering workshops and guidance on team and talent growth. His dedication to advancing sports excellence is rooted in his vision for fostering teamwork, strategic thinking, and critical leadership. Tune in to hear the ideas and actions that he uses for shaping players to who they are today.

Tom Drowley is this month’s guest on the EuroHockey Institute Podcast. He is an elite physical preparation coach with over a decade of experience in international hockey with England and Great Britain and subsequently with Malaysia. He has worked with some of the top athletes in the sport, helping them achieve peak physical performance on the global stage. Drawing on his extensive background in strength and conditioning, Tom shares his approach to training, the mental and physical demands of high-level competition, and what it takes to excel in elite sports. If you're interested in the science of athletic performance or the behind-the-scenes, this episode is a must-listen.

On this month’s EuroHockey Institute Podcast, our special guest is Helen Lejeune-van der Ben, a former Dutch player, a World Cup winner; an Olympic bronze medalist and a European champion. Following her international playing days, she has coached extensively in a wide variety of youth development roles in performance settings. This has included working with the Dutch underage girls teams to being the programme manager of Missie 1 of 1000, a movement to give children a push to a healthier lifestyle. She is also an FIH Academy and EuroHockey Institute Educator and she spoke with Jack Rolfe about her life in coaching.

Two-time FIH Goalkeeper of the Year David Harte is globally recognised as one of the world’s best between the posts for the past 15 years. A leader and a culture-creator with the Green Machine, he has traversed the Irish men’s two most recent Olympic appearances in 2016 and this year in Paris. In this month’s EuroHockey Institute Podcast, he spoke with Jack Rolfe, sharing insight from his journey, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and triumphs that shaped his career.

Getting ready to shine at the Olympics, we chat to Irish umpire, Alison Keogh, taking a look behind the scenes to see what it takes to be an international umpire and look back on some of her biggest milestones en route to the stage in Paris!

In June’s EuroHockey Institute Podcast, we are thrilled to talk to Paul Bower, a distinguished professional in sports science and physical performance. Paul has an extensive career spanning over a decade, highlighted by his role as Head of Physical Performance at Huddersfield Town Football Club, helping establish the DNA of the club amid big changes, including promotion to England’s Premier League. With experience at Barnsley FC, The Football Association, and Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge in athlete development, performance optimisation, and sports science innovation. Tune in to hear his insights on driving success in competitive sports environments!

In this month's EuroHockey Institute Podcast, our EuroHockey President Marcos Hofmann is in the hot seat, speaking to Jack Rolfe. 10 questions and fascinating insights into the business mind of Marcos as he sets out to deliver, with the Board, a legacy for hockey in Europe.

Stunning victories and raised a lot of silverware! He now heads up the coaching team of the Spanish men’s team. Listen here to discover more about his passion for instilling a love of the game in others and how his experience has enabled him to apply the lessons he has learnt during his career and his aspirations for this young ambitious Spanish team

To start the fifth series of the EuroHockey Podcast, Mike Hughes speaks to Stephen Findlater this month about the incredible rise of Old Georgians, creating the culture and environment to get from relative obscurity to the very top of the English hockey tree and how he looks to try and bring that magic to new club Indian Gymkhana. Recorded earlier this summer, he reflects on how this journey was inspired by his time on the EuroHockey Top Coaches Programme (TCP) and the challenging environment which helped develop his approach. Applications are currently open for the TCP via your Member National Association. It is an international coaching programme which is designed to support coaches who want to work at an elite level within the game. Exploring the principles of coaching, devising and developing strategic nous, evolving a coaching philosophy and understanding the management of teams and individual athletes are all part of this comprehensive, world class programme. For more information, click here: https://eurohockey.org/programme-session/top-coaches-programme-tcp

Later this month, Marijke Fleuren's tenure as EuroHockey President comes to a close following a remarkable 12-year spell in the role. As such, who better to be our EuroHockey Institute Podcast guest as we look back on an incredible leader and game-changer for our organisation and our sport. She speaks to host Jack Rolfe who says of this edition: "I reflect on this podcast with Marjike about how she embodies so effortlessly two words I always associate with our wonderful game of hockey: people and passion. "You will listen to this episode and hear the lessons of a leader that puts people first and brings ideas from reality to the real world; lessons that could have a profound effect on bringing people together with the game of hockey in your club, association or organisation."

Marieke Dijkstra is this month’s EuroHockey Institute Podcast guest, speaking to Jack Rolfe about her diverse and fascinating career in coaching. Following an international indoor and outdoor career, captaining the Dutch side to a first World Cup title on the boards in 2007. She then repeated the trick in 2015 as coach. Around that, she has been something of a game-changer. She made her way into the Hoofdklasse as a rare female coach of men's side, breaking past initial resistance to make her mark with promotion with Voordaan. Since then, she has numerous key roles, salvaging a rough season for SV Kampong's women at short notice, working with Pinoké's rising stars to working with the Dutch senior men’s setup for the past two years. She tells Jack about those experiences and how it has shaped her thinking, particularly when taking on the top job with Den Bosch dames side in transition after a decade under Raoul Ehren, landing a Dutch championship in 2022 and then, leading them to the Euro Hockey League at Easter this year.  A fascinating chat, have a listen here!

For Pride month’s EuroHockey Institute Podcast, we have the incredible Nikki Symmons. A groundbreaker in numerous realms; a Yahoo & Involve Outstanding LGBTQ Role Model 2021 & 2022, a dual Irish international across hockey and cricket, an ambassador with Athlete Ally, an inclusion and diversity advisor and, of course, a EuroHockey Hall of Famer. Nikki speaks to Jack Rolfe about her career, the devastation of missing out on Olympic qualification, her subsequent attempts to escape those memories only to end up in Lausanne, face to face with the five rings at each turn. She gives a fascinating insight into life first playing the sport and her subsequent role as a thought-leader in hockey’s adaptation to the digital world for five years and how the sport battles to make its mark in that realm.

This month, we turn the tables with regular EuroHockey Institute Podcast host Jack Rolfe receiving the questions from the EHF's Stephen Findlater. The Englishman talks about his coaching journey and expanding his horizons through the Coaches 4 Europe program. It is an adventure which has also seen him found the Coaching Lab and the innovative Match Play Cards which are now used in over 50 countries and by many elite clubs outside of hockey such as Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham. Now based in Perth, he also reflects on the differences in hockey cultures between Europe and Australia and what it was like to share a bench with Jamie Dwyer, Blake Govers, Eddie Ockenden and Tyler Lovell!

Series 4 Episode 6 - This month on the EuroHockey Institute Podcast, we have an extra special guest with FIH World Cup winner Christopher Rühr talking to Jack Rolfe. They discuss coaching creativity, motivation and how this marries with the high-level tactical awareness that is synonymous with German hockey. Have a listen to this fascinating chat with one of the sport's current superstars!

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have a special EuroHockey Institute Podcast this month with Shirley McCay, Ireland’s most capped sportsperson who is now making a major impact on the next generation. Her story is symbolic of the “Green Army” and their rise from nowhere to the top table in the world, reaching the 2018 World Cup final. She speaks to Jack Rolfe about growing up far from the hockey hubs of Ireland but how her background helped shape her, how her ‘stubbornness and steeliness’ drove her to never wonder ‘what if’. Beyond her playing days, she has had a direct influence in guiding and inspiring the next generation. She has been involved for almost a decade as a talent coach with Ulster Hockey, the northern province in Ireland, overseeing programmes from primary school level up to Under-21 level. Her approach is very much a player-centred one, making sure to listen to athletes and observe the new evolutions in the sport rather than hark back to the elements which influenced her early career. Enjoy episode five of this fourth series of the EuroHockey Institute Podcast.

Series 4 Episode 3: In our first EuroHockey Institute podcast for 2023, Jack Rolfe speaks to the wonderful Cecilia Rognoni. She reflects on an outstanding playing career, highlighted by Argentina’s breakthrough Olympic silver medal and the “best tournament of my life”: World Cup gold in 2002 in Perth when she was named player of the tournament. The journey took her to the Netherlands to initially play and then coach. Cecilia talks about those experiences - and playing with Luciana Aymar - and how they have informed her coaching, specifically on the importance of giving freedom to players and the tools to solve problems on the field as well as the separation between the role of a coach and trainer.