Scotland’s on a roll with a total of 8 players being selected for a Great Britain women’s training camp this coming weekend in England. All of the players hail from the new Scotland senior women’s squad announced by Coach Keith Joss.

Scottish Institute of Sport athletes Abi Walker (Milne Craig Western), Cheryl Valentine (Bonagrass Grove), Emma Rochlin (Milne Craig Western), Holly Cram (Milne Craig Western), Laura Bartlett (Milne Craig Western), Linda Clement (Bonagrass Grove), Louise Munn (Bonagrass Grove) and Vikki Bunce (Bonagrass Grove) will have the opportunity to show their skills at Bisham Abbey, and will be hoping to impress GB Coach Danny Kerry.

Scotland Coach Keith Joss said: “This is a great opportunity for our players to showcase Scotland on an international stage, and gain great experience they can bring back to our national squad.   I am certain that all of the players will step up to the plate and push to represent GB and Scotland at the Olympic Games.”

Training with GB, if making the next cut, will affect the 8 listed players’ availability for Scotland’s next venture, capped matches against Ireland on 23rd, 24th and 25th November as GB will be in Argentina at this time.

In light of players being selected for GB and looking forward to next year, Keith Joss also announced the latest senior women’s squad selections.

Louise Gordon’s (Milne Craig Western) name is missing from the list as she is taking time off to focus on her teaching career.  However there are plenty of talented players ready to fill her shoes. Additions to the squad include Kareena Marshall (Giffnock), Leigh Fawcett (University of Syracuse, USA) and Susan Hamilton (Sunderland Ladies).  Keith Joss commented: “All three of these players had strong performances with the U21’s during the summer and look ready to play at senior level.”

Expectations for this year’s Scottish squad will be high as last year’s team performed well, such as beating all their opponents to sweep the Celtic Cup followed by gaining promotion to the EuroHockey Championships in 2022.  

 “We’re looking to build on this year’s successes and prepare for the 2022 European Championships where the challenge will be to maintain our status as one of the top 8 teams in Europe”, explained Joss. 

He continued: “First things first, we need to look forward to facing Ireland in Stirling this November.” The Irish face Scotland in preparation for their Olympic Qualifier in Canada this spring.

Source: Scottish Hockey