Hockey duo hope for Olympic Games squad places

Hockey star Shona McCallin believes the GB team’s strength in togetherness will help as they continue their preparations for the Rio Olympics.

The 24-year-old, of Dry Doddington, is playing a starting role for Great Britain in the Champions Trophy in London.

The former Newark Hockey Club star is hoping her performances will be enough to secure her place on the world stage in Brazil later this year.

Great Britain have struggled so far with a draw against Argentina followed by narrow defeats to the Netherlands and New Zealand.

However, McCallin doesn’t believe the tournament will have a huge bearing on the decision of the selectors.

“Obviously it’s important because it’s the final tournament before Rio, but results-wise it isn’t as vital,” she said.

“We want to put on a good show but we will hold a few things back for Rio while also enjoying the experience of some strong opposition.

“We are looking to come away fully satisfied with our performance and hopefully we will have learned a lot.”

McCallin spends a lot of her time at the squad’s national base at Bisham Abbey, and believes performances there will determine selection.

“Playing in the Olympics is the pinnacle for everyone involved, but I don’t think people are going out to prove anything during the competition,” McCallin said.

“The beauty of our programme is we train as a team day in day out. We know what we can do as individuals and as a team.

“I know there is extra spotlight as it’s the last tournament before the Olympics, but we are in a good place to see the bigger picture.”

McCallin is playing in London for the first time since she helped England win the European Championships last summer.

“Everyone talks about the clichés about the crowd becoming the 12th player, but it does help,” she said.

“All the girls love playing at home because it gives you that extra buzz when you hear a crowd that’s fully behind you.

“As a squad we have been working towards Rio since the European Championships last year for five days a week.

“We have been doing the right things in training and that’s been showing with our results in the past few months.”

Gold appears to be beyond Great Britain in the Champions Trophy, but they continue their battle for a spot in the bronze medal match when they take on US later today.

Adam Dixon is also looking at the bigger picture after Great Britain’s men’s hockey team claimed fourth place at the Champions Trophy.

They just missed out on the medals in their final opportunity before Rio with a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the bronze medal game.

They qualified for the match with a 4-1 victory over South Korea and draws against Australia, Germany and Belgium.

Dixon played in the bronze medal match where a goal in the third quarter gave Germany the win.

“It’s hard to play against Germany. They are arguably the best defence in the world. We controlled vast parts of the game, and to put them on the back foot is a positive,” he said.

“We got into the circle a bit, but it would have been nice to get more shots on target and more penalty corners, and that’s something we’re going to have to work on if we want to be successful in tournaments.”

The former Newark Hockey Club player said the matches would prove vital preparation as the squad prepares for the Olympic games.

“To have this many games so close to Rio is really important for us —even better that it’s on home soil,” he said.

“We would have struggled for games if this tournament wasn’t on so we are glad the fans have come out to support us and for the volunteers that help make it happen.”