This month’s guest is Stefan Blöcher, former German international and EuroHockey Hall of Famer.
From his early days as a driven young player to one of the great playing careers and then on to coaching roles which have taken him across the world, Stefan shares his philosophy on motivation, growth, and the unifying power of sport.
He reflects on how hockey has connected him with people from every culture and background, proving that sport truly is a common language.
This month’s guest is Minke Booij; a Dutch and Den Bosch icon, an Olympic, World Cup and European champion, and a culture leader on and off the field. She reflects on the true essence of team sport.
Minke shares how success isn’t built on individual moments, but on the lasting memories created together. She highlights the importance of building strong relationships, involving everyone, and fostering a culture where every player feels part of the journey.
This month, we sit down with Andy Halliday, former Team Manager for England and Great Britain’s men’s Olympic hockey teams. From an unexpected start inspired by a radio ad to a storied career in elite sport, Andy shares how his time in the police shaped his leadership style.
He dives into the importance of building environments where athletes feel safe, understood, and ready to perform, emphasising the power of empathy, preparation, and thinking slow to act fast. Now a coach, commentator, and charity advocate, Andy’s story is as multifaceted as the sport he loves.
The well-travelled Federico Tanuscio joins the podcast to share stories from his unforgettable journey with the Argentine national team. From thrilling matches to the joy-filled spirit of Argentinian culture, Federico - who is currently Luxembourg director of hockey - reflects on how playing hockey with Los Leones wasn’t just about sport; it was about community, passion, and embracing life with a smile.
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/
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 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 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.
Olympic, World and European champion Thomas Briels talks to Jack Rolfe about the elements that made him the player he is, from learning to do the "ugly metres" that became intrinsic to his hockey DNA to coming around to what he saw as an unlikely captaincy role during the Belgian Red Lions' golden era.
Tune in for this fascinating chat with one of the latest entrants into the EuroHockey Hall of Fame in our October EuroHockey Institute Podcast!
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!