Hockey player Lilly, 12, in line for young inspiration award
AN “UNSTOPPABLE” Bristol schoolgirl who shared daily hockey training videos online during lockdown has been nominated for a prestigious Sunday Times Sports Women of the Year Young Inspiration Award.
Lilly Holmes, aged 12, has been playing for Clifton Robinsons since she was seven years old, and for Redmaids’ High School since she was nine.
But when lockdown looked as though it was going to put a stop to all her hockey activity, she took matters into her own hands.
With all practice sessions and matches cancelled, Lilly decided to put her time at home to good use by recording a daily hockey video and uploading it to her Twitter account @miss_hockey1
Her daily skills started with simple drills around homemade obstacle courses. She then moved on, using online video recordings, to teach herself more technical skills.
Lilly continued practising and posting daily, right up until day 137 of lockdown, when she was finally able to get out and start training with local coaches and friends again.
Lilly’s mum Carolyn Holmes said: “Lilly was unstoppable. She was out in all weathers, practising for hours on end.”
Miss Maggs, director of sport at Redmaids’ High School, said: “We are delighted to see that Lilly has been shortlisted for this prestigious award. She is an outstanding athlete who has been representing the school across a number of sports since she joined us in Year 5.
“This year she was part of the hockey team who were crowned U13 County and Regional U13 Champions. They were due to go to the National Finals in March, but this was sadly cancelled due to Covid.
“We would love to see Lilly win this award, in recognition of her sheer enthusiasm, drive and determination.”
The public are now being asked to vote for the nominees at sportswomenoftheyear.co.uk/
The winners will be honoured at a special online awards ceremony on November 25.