14 Mar 2018
Loughborough players make up 1/3 of England men’s hockey squad for Gold Coast
An astonishing 7 out of 18 players named in the Team England men’s hockey squad for next month’s Commonwealth Games have been student-athletes at Loughborough University.
All seven men are Loughborough alumni having successfully combined their studies with international hockey. The most recent graduate of the group is Ian Sloan, who completed his Accounting and Financial Management degree last summer. Joining him in the squad is 2016 International Business graduate Harry Gibson, the goalkeeper making his Games debut.
Barry Middleton is the most experienced of the bunch, the 34-year-old having been captain in 2014 when the side took bronze at the Glasgow Games. The most capped English player in history with over 400 to his name, Middleton stepped down from captaincy duties in 2017 to make way for a new look leadership trio including Ian Sloan.
Of the side that won bronze in Glasgow under the captaincy of Middleton were his fellow alumni David Condon, Mark Gleghorne and Henry Weir, who are all included again for Gold Coast. The final man of the seven Loughborough players is Chris Griffiths, and his selection is probably the most popular of all, having battled back from lengthy spells on the sidelines that have caused him to miss the last few major tournaments, including Rio 2016.
Loughborough Hockey Men’s Head Coach Jerome Goudie commented:
“The hockey club are very proud of the seven Loughborough alumni who have been named in Bobby Crutchley’s squad to compete in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Impressively, it will be Barry Middleton’s fourth Commonwealth Games, a second for David Condon, Henry Weir and Mark Gleghorne, while it will be debuts for Harry Gibson, Chris Griffiths and captain, Ian Sloan. The squad are taking forward some good momentum from their recent Sultan Azlan Shah performances and the club wish the team all the very best.”
Loughborough players in the England squad:
David Condon
Harry Gibson
Mark Gleghorne
Chris Griffiths
Barry Middleton
Ian Sloan
Henry Weir
England Men’s Fixtures (UK Time)
Fri 6 April - Malaysia 12.30am
Sun 8 April - Pakistan 5.30am
Tue 10 April - Wales 5.30am
Wed 11 April - India 10.30am
Fri 13 April - Men's Semi-Finals - 10.30am or 12.45pm
Sat 14 April - Men's Bronze Medal Match - 10.00am
Sat 14 April - Men's Final - 12.15pm