Hockey
Marlborough enjoys a long tradition of excellence in hockey and has produced more Oxbridge Blues than any other school.
Hockey was first played at Marlborough College in 1874. There has always been a close link between Marlborough hockey and the Varsity Match; nine Marlburians played in the first Cambridge–Oxford clash in 1890. No fewer than 36 of the Cambridge and Oxford captains have been former Marlborough pupils.
Hockey is a major sport for both boys and girls and we are ranked amongst the top hockey playing schools in the country. In recent years, our teams have enjoyed many a success at county, regional and national level. Throughout the Michaelmas Term, the girls play a series of competitive fixtures and compete in Tier 1 of England Hockey’s National Schools Competition. The boys play their hockey during the Lent Term and also compete in Tier 1 of the National Cup Competition. Marlborough’s hockey programme features players at every level of the England Hockey Player Pathway, from grassroots level through to the Regional Performance Centre and on to National Age Group selection.
Our players are guided by the coaching expertise of international, current and former National League players and FIH and UKCC qualified coaches.
Oliver Willars
Head of Hockey
Facilities
Players train, develop and compete on two fully floodlit smurf-turf hybrid pitches, complete with bespoke dug-outs, an electronic scoreboard and fixed video analysis camera. They are two of the best surfaces in school hockey. The Sports Hall complex offers the opportunity for indoor hockey during the winter season. Pupils also have access to the College’s state-of-the-art gym facilities with professional strength and conditioning training.
Fixtures
The College has a competitive fixture list and in recent years both boys’ and girls’ teams have been successful in securing many county, regional and Independent School Hockey League (ISHL) titles. U14, U16 and U18 Boys’ and Girls’ teams are entered annually into England Hockey National Cup competitions.
In recent years, the Boys’ 1st XI reached the semi-finals of the National Boarding Schools Cup; the Girls’ 1st XI reached the quarter finals of the Investec Schools U18 National Tier 1 Championships; the U16 Girls reached the Tier 1 National Finals and the U14 Girls competed in the Tier 1 National Finals.
Collaborations
We have strong links with England Hockey’s Performance Centres to support the transition of our Lower School pupils into club and representative hockey. Those with greatest potential are selected to join the national Player Pathway programmes and may go on to represent England or Great Britain.
A number of our pupils regularly play at both Junior and Senior level for Reading Hockey Club, one of the premier hockey clubs in the country, whilst others stay local and play in a regional league with Marlborough Town Hockey Club.
Coaching
Aspiring hockey players at Marlborough learn from coaches with experience at the very pinnacle of the game.
Leading the coaching programme is Head of Hockey, Oliver Willars, who is a former England and Great Britain defender. Willars enjoyed a stellar playing career making a total of 138 caps for both England and Great Britain. He made his debut for England at the 2012 Champions Trophy and won eight medals, including two bronzes at both the EuroHockey Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Former South African captain, Susan Wessels, is also part of the coaching team. She played 146 times for the South Africa women’s hockey team and has competed at the highest level, including at two Olympic Games, the second at Athens in 2004 as South Africa’s Captain.