Hoci Cymru are delighted to announce that three of our senior internationals have been selected to be part of the centralised GB programme.
Fred Newbold, Millie Holme and Rebecca Daniel have all put themselves in the mix for future GB caps by joining the centralised training programme based at Bisham Abbey.
The players have been selected having spent the past year participating in GB Hockey’s Elite Development Programme and impressing during the talent confirmation period - involving camps at Bisham over the last few months. Their promotion to the senior training programme is a testament to their hard work.
Following Sarah Jones’ recent retirement from the GB programme, Holme and Daniel ensure Wales remain represented in the women’s programme. Whereas Newbold joins Jacob Draper, Gareth Furlong and Toby Reynolds-Cotterill in the men’s programme.
Hoci Cymru performance director Kevin Johnson commented on the selection:
"I am delighted to see that Fred, Millie and Rebecca's continued progress in recent years across Wales and Great Britain EDP programmes has seen them further rewarded by gaining a GB centralised programme place after the recent talent confirmation period.
Whilst performance Hockey in Wales continues to be challenged on multiple fronts it's a great lift and inspiration for those players and staff working so hard in our National programmes to continue to see this encouraging systemic trend of numbers transitioning into Great Britain programmes. I wish them all the very best for their exciting journey ahead!"
Read more about our selected players:
Fred Newbold
Fred’s hockey journey started from a young age playing for Henley Hockey Club. He followed in the footsteps of his grandad and parents who all previously played hockey. Fred then went onto play for Reading Hockey Club making his Premier League debut aged 17. Fred studied at the University of Oxford completing a four-year integrated Master’s degree in Biological Sciences in 2023.
He first represented Wales for the U21s in 2019 at the Eurohockey III Championship in Lithuania where he and the team won gold. Fred made his Wales senior debut in May 2021 against Scotland aged 20. Fred has since represented Wales at two senior A-Division Eurohockey Championships and the World Cup in India in 2023, which is one of his proudest hockey moments.
Alongside representing Wales, Fred was part of the Great Britain Elite Development squad for many years where he played and captained (against Malaysia) for the GB U21s at the Sultan of Johor tournament in 2022 where the team achieved a bronze medal. Fred has recently been added to the Great Britain full time men’s programme. He currently plays for Wimbledon Hockey Club having spent a year abroad in the German Bundesliga for Der Club an der Alster.'
Millie Holme
Millie’s hockey journey began at the age of 10, when she join her local club, Buckingham, where both her mum and sister also played. Millie made her premier league debut at the age of 15 against Surbition before later moving to the University of Exeter to study Mechanical Engineering. Now in her final year, Millie is currently in her second year of captaining the Exeter side.
Millie first represented Wales for the senior team in the 2021 European II Championship in Prague at age 19. Since then, Millie has accumulated 32 senior international caps. She has represented Wales at a World Cup Qualifier, two Europeans Championships and Qualifiers, as well as the Birmingham 2022 commonwealth games where she scored her first senior international goal.
Alongside representing Wales, Millie has represented the GB EDP and recently played against the Australian u23s team.
Rebecca Daniel
Rebecca started playing hockey at 6 years old for her local club, Bury St Edmunds, before moving to Cambridge City at the age of 14 and playing for the Ladies 1st team in the National League.
After finishing school, she went to Durham University to study Sport and Exercise Sciences. Rebecca played for Durham University in both the BUCS and national league for the next four years.
Whilst at university, Rebecca got involved with the Welsh hockey programme, gaining her first senior international cap in a test series against South Africa in 2022. She has represented Wales at the Junior World Cup, Birmingham Commonwealth Games, European Qualifiers and European II Championship. She has also been involved with the GB EDP programme.
Since leaving Durham, Rebecca has been working at Clifton College as a hockey coach and been playing for Clifton Robinsons.
The Talent Confirmation process is still ongoing, with other athletes being given further opportunities to stake their claim for a place in the men’s or women’s programmes before the final squads are determined in early 2025.
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