One of Europe’s elite hockey teams has signed a unique partnership with De Montfort University Leicester to nurture future champions not just in sport but in the workplace too.
Leicester Ladies Hockey Club is one of the oldest and most successful hockey clubs in the UK and won the European Club Championship Trophy in 2014.
Crista Cullen, Hannah Macleod, Anne Panter and Chloe Rogers were famously part of the bronze medal-winning GB Olympic Hockey team in 2012 and in total the club has had 24 players represent GB, 44 play for England and still more represent nations including South Africa, Wales, Ireland, Germany and Belgium.
This week the club signed a partnership agreement to work closely with DMU to offer elite coaching to the University’s men’s and women’s teams.
They will also link up with the pioneering #DMUglobal scheme, which aims to give 50 per cent of all students an overseas experience, by organising for students to travel with them to a tournament in Barcelona in the New Year and work on initiatives with the DMU Square Mile team.
The club will also offer students experiences in everything from umpiring to media work and administration to help with their CVs and prepare them for the world of work.
Leicester Ladies is also keen to create a men’s hockey team which will be able reach the elite level of its women athletes over the next 10 to 15 years.
Matt Lilley, 21, a third year Biomedical Science student at DMU and chairman of the university men’s hockey team, said he was excited by the prospect of creating an elite men’s team for Leicester.
He said: “It would be brilliant to have a Leicester men’s team competing at the same level as Leicester Ladies. There are so many role models we can look up to in the Leicester Ladies side. I enjoy watching them because there are so many fantastic athletes in their team.
“Stereotypically it is young males who go to watch men’s sport and dream of playing at the top level. This is a bit of a role reversal and it would be amazing to have men’s skills and ambitions blossom from this partnership.”
Sarah Treanor, Vice-President of Leicester Ladies, said: “This marks the start of a fruitful partnership. It shows the investment and importance that DMU puts into women’s sport as well as their academic achievement.
“Despite being a long-standing club we always want to evolve and this offers us the chance to offer young men and women from every background the chance to be involved in our sport at every level.
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“It is exciting for us to join with an institution that stays true to the same principles as we do and this partnership is going to make a big difference to a lot of people.”
Charlotte Hutsby, 20, who is studying a BSc in Adult Nursing plays for both Leicester Ladies and DMU.
She added: “DMU has never experienced this level of coaching before and it is great to see a link between the two clubs. It will be amazing to bring players through from DMU and Leicester Ladies and introduce initiatives that see us develop on and off the pitch.”
DMU’s James Gardner, a PVC Dean who, among other things, holds a portfolio for student progression through sport, said: “This partnership is a flagship model for how we want to engage with excellent local sports teams and bring huge benefits to our students and the wider community. It will also help with our desire to increase female participation in sport – something we treat with great importance.
“I look forward to working with Leicester Ladies for a long time to come.”
DMU students already enjoy prestigious partnerships with Premier League Leicester City, Leicester Tigers rugby club and Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Posted on Thursday 1 October 2015