Hockey Wales' brilliant Young Ambassadors programme is designed to support and recognise the commitment young people give to hockey. The programme is a fantastic opportunity for our young players to improve their confidence, gain a range of skills such as networking and public speaking alongside coaching and umpiring techniques and develop them as a young leader.

We asked our talented and passionate young player Laurie Ullathorne to write a guest blog for us on his experiences as a Young Ambassador.

"Hi, my name is Laurie and I have been playing hockey for around 5 years. I currently play for the U13’s at Gwent Hockey Club. I really like the sport as it helps me meet new people, improves my confidence, and allows me to learn new skills.

I have joined the Welsh Hockey Ambassador team starting with the Bronze award. Hopefully this will allow me to progress through the Silver, Gold and Platinum awards to allow me to further my skills and abilities. I am really excited for my journey and I have been helping out with coaching the under 9’s age group for a few weeks now which I have really enjoyed.

I also love to help here or there as I think I can pass my new skills and experiences onto younger kids. I also help my old Primary school with coaching as well. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus situation this has had to stop temporarily but hopefully will be starting again soon.

I think you should also go down this route with the hockey ambassador team because it encourages you to help and meet new people! Something to remember is that it’s just fun!"

For more information on the Hockey Wales Young Ambassadors Programme, visit www.hockeywales.org.uk/hockey-young-ambassadors

If any of our youth players would like to write our next blog, please speak to a member of committee to get involved.