Loughborough hockey coach inspired by Birmingham 2022

BIRMINGHAM 2022 was a oncein-a-lifetime experience and hockey coach Jerome Goudie admits being in the thick of it has inspired him to push for greater heights, writes Tum Balogun, of Sportsbeat.

Goudie, who is head coach at Loughborough University after earning 121 caps for England and Great Britain in his playing days, is one of the aspiring support staff in the Team England Futures programme due to his role as England under-18s assistant coach. While the 45-year-old kept an eye on the hockey competitions that took place in Birmingham, he also got to witness some of the action in athletics and table tennis.

Along with the other coaches involved with Team England Futures, Goudie was given a tour of the athletes’ village and a behindthe-scenes look at some of the other facilities made available to competitors at the Games.

Goudie said: “I was surprised at the amount of background detail that goes into everyday life.

“You get a feel for it when you go to tournaments yourself but now obviously, with the level of security and stuff around the Games, there’s a lot more that goes into going into the dining room hall, going from campus to campus and going into each venue.

“There’s a lot more that has to be thought about and planned than you would normally appreciate.”

Goudie has been involved in coaching for over a decade and has been in his current role of heading up men’s performance at

Loughborough, who have a track record of producing players who represent their country, for nine years.

The Commonwealth Games were his first experience of what goes on behind the scenes at a multisport event.

Goudie said: “It helped me because now I have a really good understanding, starting with the Immersion Camp of getting your kit and being part of that to coming into this environment.

“You can recognise the athletes’ village is a place that you could probably get overwhelmed by because of the number of people who might be there.

“You’re able to not just recognise that but get comfortable with that and not get too carried away with the party atmosphere that’s in there.

“It can prepare you for if that opportunity comes up, you’ll be prepared and enjoy it, but focused on hopefully delivering some results at the next Commonwealth Games or Olympics.”