Scotland hockey international Holly Cram hails full-time tactics

Scotland hockey international Holly Cram believes the move to full-time training this summer will be a major boost as the side prepares for major tournaments on the horizon.
The women are bidding to maintain their place in the top division at the EuroHockey Championships in Belgium this August before turning their focus to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
And Holly – a veteran with two Commonwealth Games and more than 100 caps under her belt – reckons the decision to train five days a week for three months from June could pay dividends.
“I’ve had the experience of full-time training with the GB Team before and it can make a huge difference,” said the 28-year-old forward, who plays her club hockey with Milne Craig Clydesdale Western.
“Some of the younger players haven’t experienced that before and it will stand them in good stead. At the moment everyone is studying and working so to get everyone together will give us a major advantage.
“Our main focus this year is to stay in the top tier of European hockey so we keep playing against the best teams more often. We’ve some friendlies planned beforehand and we are going out to Brussels for a little bit of a reconnaissance trip before the tournament starts.”
Holly is studying to become a Physical Education teacher at the University of Strathclyde and receives funding support and academic flexibility from Winning Students, Scotland’s national sports scholarships for high performance student athletes.
She was one of nine current and former Winning Students competing at the recent FIH World League Round Two in Rio where Scotland missed out on qualification for Round Three by the narrowest of margins, finishing on equal points with second-placed Chile, but the South American’s progressed due to more tournament wins overall.
She was joined by Alison Howie (University of Strathclyde), Nicki Cochrane, Nikki Kidd and Morag McLellan (all University of Edinburgh) and Nicola Skrastin (University of Glasgow), whilst the side also featured former students Alison Bell, Amy Gibson and Susan McGilveray.
Holly added: “The course is going really well and the support from the University and the funding from Winning Students has been a huge help. I’ve really enjoyed the placements and I’ve two coming up soon. I’ve not had the chance to teach hockey so far so I might be a little rusty, but it has been very enjoyable.
“With my course, the Europeans and then Glasgow 2014, it’s a busy time. To be selected for the Commonwealth Games would be massive for me personally, but even more so for all my family and friends as it would be reward for their dedication coming to support me at pitches in the middle of nowhere throughout the years.
“To compete in my home city would be a special experience, one that few people ever get. It’s great to see all the sports facilities in the east end of Glasgow and I’m sure the Games will have a positive impact on hockey and on sport more widely.”
Working in partnership with Scottish Hockey, Winning Students currently supports 30 hockey players competing at Junior and Senior international level for Scotland.

Scotland hockey international Holly Cram believes the move to full-time training this summer will be a major boost as the side prepares for important tournaments on the horizon.

The senior women are bidding to maintain their place in the top division at the EuroHockey Championships in Belgium this August before turning their focus to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

And Holly – a veteran with two Commonwealth Games – reckons the decision to train five days a week for three months from June could pay dividends.

“I’ve had the experience of full-time training with the GB Team before and it can make a huge difference,” said the 28-year-old forward, who plays her club hockey with Milne Craig Clydesdale Western.

“Some of the younger players haven’t experienced that before and it will stand them in good stead. At the moment everyone is studying and working so to get everyone together will give us a major advantage.

“Our main focus this year is to stay in the top tier of European hockey so we keep playing against the best teams more often. We’ve some friendlies planned beforehand and we are going out to Brussels for a little bit of a reconnaissance trip before the tournament starts.”

Holly Cram WRL2

Holly is studying to become a Physical Education teacher at the University of Strathclyde and receives funding support and academic flexibility from Winning Students, Scotland’s national sports scholarships for high performance student athletes.

She was one of nine current and former Winning Students competing at the recent FIH World League Round Two in Rio where Scotland missed out on qualification for Round Three by the narrowest of margins, finishing on equal points with second-placed Chile, but the South Americans progressed due to more tournament wins overall.

She was joined by Alison Howie (University of Strathclyde), Nicki Cochrane, Nikki Kidd and Morag McLellan (all University of Edinburgh) and Nicola Skrastin (University of Glasgow), whilst the side also featured former students Alison Bell, Amy Gibson and Susan McGilveray.

Holly added: “The course is going really well and the support from the University and the funding from Winning Students has been a huge help. I’ve really enjoyed the placements and I’ve two coming up soon. I’ve not had the chance to teach hockey so far so I might be a little rusty, but it has been very enjoyable.

“With my course, the Europeans and then Glasgow 2014, it’s a busy time. To be selected for the Commonwealth Games would be massive for me personally, but even more so for all my family and friends as it would be reward for their dedication coming to support me at pitches in the middle of nowhere throughout the years.

“To compete in my home city would be a special experience, one that few people ever get. It’s great to see all the sports facilities in the east end of Glasgow and I’m sure the Games will have a positive impact on hockey and on sport more widely.”

Working in partnership with Scottish Hockey, Winning Students currently supports 30 hockey players competing at Junior and Senior international level for Scotland.

Please visit the Winning Students website for more information about the scholarship programme and the hockey athletes currently on the programme.

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