By Alex Hoad

Hockey player Ashley Jackson will be trying to land a second European title in an England shirt at the weekend.

The former Sutton Valence School pupil travelled with the England squad to Poznan, Poland, ahead of the Euro Indoor Nations Trophy which starts on Friday and continues until Sunday.

In August, Jackson was named player of the tournament at the EuroHockey Nations Championships where his eight goals, including two in the final against Germany, led England to their first ever gold medals.

His year was completed by another superb showing in the Champions Trophy in Melbourne last month which concluded with him being named WorldHockey Young Player of the Year.

Jackson, who lives in West Malling when not playing professional hockey for Dutch side HGC, said: "Hopefully this is the start of something special.

"I don’t want to reach the end of my career with just the one gold medal and one title. It was a good year and I was honoured by the award but I’m looking to the future and thinking about what I have to do to achieve more.

"Over my career I want to build up something which will be remembered."

Picture courtesy of Ady Kerry