By Lucas Ball

Former Holcombe star Maddie Hinch returned to the club on Sunday - eight years on from her departure.

Ex-goalkeeper Hinch left Holcs after winning Olympic gold with Great Britain at the Rio Olympics of 2016.

She was back to put on a coaching camp alongside former Holcs player Laura Myers and current goalkeeper and England under-21 international Tilly Woodhead.

Hinch, who has retired from playing hockey following a spell in the Netherlands, won a combined 270 caps for England and Great Britain.

She was named International Hockey Federation female goalkeeper of the year award three times across an illustrious playing career which saw her win two Olympic medals, three EuroHockey Championship medals and three Commonwealth Games medals.

She joined Holcombe in 2013, spending three years with the club before moving to Stichtsche and ending her playing career with Tilburg, having also played for Exmouth and Leicester in the United Kingdom.

On returning to the club where she won promotion to the Premier Division in 2013/14, Hinch, who runs MH1 Coaching, said: “It’s really nice to be back, it’s brought back some really fond memories.

“It feels like a long time ago that I was here but obviously when I first walked through the doors of this club, it was an ambitious club, particularly on the women’s side trying to get promoted and playing in the Conference which was certainly entertaining at times.

“It’s just a lot of really fond memories and really, this was the last club I played for in the UK before my ventures in the Netherlands.

“It’s a club I’m incredibly proud to be associated with.

“There’s a lot of people representing the club here [with Maddie, Laura Myers and Tilly Woodhead] and it’s really nice to have Tilly coming through.

“You can see how much potential that girl has and it’s really nice to get her stuck into the showcases particularly because they are not easy.

“I’ve made friends for life here, I think that’s first and foremost – it’s one of the main reasons you play the sport, the memories you make with some of your best friends so that’s first and foremost for me and then I guess the promotion piece was massive.

“Even if you throw a bunch of what you classify as international stars together, you still have to get the job done and the pressure was on.

“It’s really tricky to get promoted, you have got to have that consistent season.

“I did it for a club in the Netherlands, too, and it was just as difficult.

“I think the day we were promoted still stands out as one of the best memories for me.

“I remember that day [returning to Holcombe after winning Rio 2016 gold], that whole period of my life still feels like a bit of a whirlwind, I’m not entirely sure what was going on.

“It was so nice, amongst the chaos, that we [Maddie, Shona McCallin and Nicola White] were able to get the time to come back to the club, show everyone the medals and inspire the next generation.

“That’s massive, for all the players that are involved now, too, as well as in the past to try to inspire people to go on to achieve their dreams just as we have – it’s huge.

“Being able to bring medals back to the clubs that helped put us in those positions is really important so I’m glad that we were able to do it and have that special day together.

“For me, I think it’s just that visibility piece if we want to grow the game, to keep doing moments like these where we’re sharing the stories and getting to know the athletes – their why, their journeys, showcasing our sport and why we love it so much.

“It’s so important, the space for us is becoming smaller and smaller so it’s really important to showcase it where we can and for people to take those opportunities when we do get them to talk about the sport, to watch it when we can and invest it, give it the time it deserves really.”

Having spent nine seasons in the top flight, Holcombe’s women were relegated in 2022/23 but bounced back immediately to win promotion from Division 1 South – Nick Bandurak’s side take on Wimbledon in their first game back on Saturday, September 21.

Hinch was delighted to see her former team return immediately, saying: “Absolutely, it’s great to see the women back in the Premier Division, it’s where they belong.

“I can appreciate that it’s not easy and there’s always a lot of change through the teams over the years so to sustain that quality is tough but if there’s any club that can do it, it’s Holcombe so I’m really excited to see the team back where they belong.”

As well as running an MH1 tour which has seen coaching camps take place at venues across the country over a two-week period, Hinch spent part of the summer in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games, working for Team USA as an assistant coach following their final Pro League matches in London in June.

Less than a year after retiring from hockey, Hinch – who was also awarded an OBE in the 2024 New Years’ Honours List – has spent time coaching with the University of Connecticut and since Team USA, who finished fifth in Pool B in Paris, just two points behind Great Britain, who took the last quarter-final spot in the pool.

With a home Olympic Games to come in four years’ time, Hinch is excited about the future for the US team: “It was an amazing experience, the US position was a very unexpected position, I didn’t see it coming if I’m honest but I feel very grateful and proud to have had that opportunity to be part of the Olympic experience in a different way.

“To be pitch-side within a year of retiring is just crazy, I’m really grateful to the US team for putting so much trust in me.

“They’re an exciting group and obviously with Los Angeles next [in 2028], it’s a really exciting programme to be a part of. Paris from the pitch side was certainly more challenging than being an athlete – it turns out you have zero time off, no time for naps!

“It’s 24/7 work so I’m pretty knackered but happy to have had that experience for sure.

“Initially, I had six months at UConn, that was where I was initially placed – again, a role that I didn’t really see coming through to me but thought ‘why not?’.

“I love to travel, I love to explore different cultures and do new things so UConn was a perfect step because now I’ve gone into that international system understanding the structure a bit more, the college system is so strong and it’s where a lot of the players are fed through. It’s taken a bit of getting used to but I’m grateful for the opportunity and I’m learning a lot quickly.

“I’m excited to see where it takes me next.”