Half Court Press

29/08/2026

Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well.

Episode seven is with former South African ladies goalkeeper and captain Phumelela Hlophe (née Mbande). A successful player in her day, she played in several major tournaments more than once, including the World Cup and the hockey tournament of the Commonwealth Games, whilst winning gold medals at the African Cup of Nations. Her experiences at the elite level, whilst being a part of a broadly amateur programme, provide an interesting perspective on how to grow the game. In this episode we chat about a variety of competitions including the FIH Pro League, the Nations Cup, domestic and international hockey and how to develop the sport on South Africa.

Photo credit; World Sports Pics & Ady Kerry.

Follow the link below to listen to the episode on Spotify…
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7F3NCY7ja5Yw3MxUgKugLL?si=DmmpbuHZTs2QwST5AHNr7A&utm_source=copy-link

Half Court Press
⁠⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠⁠
Facebook & Twitter;
Threads & Instagram; Half Court Press

The Half Court Press Podcast is available on…

iTunes
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Breaker
Overcast
Pocket Casts
RadioPublic

The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon…

A Little Book About Hockey
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠⁠

A Little Book About Football
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH⁠

28/08/2026

Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well.

Episode seven is with former South African ladies goalkeeper and captain Phumelela Hlophe (née Mbande). A successful player in her day, she played in several major tournaments more than once, including the World Cup and the hockey tournament of the Commonwealth Games, whilst winning gold medals at the African Cup of Nations. Her experiences at the elite level, whilst being a part of a broadly amateur programme, provide an interesting perspective on how to grow the game. In this episode we chat about a variety of competitions including the FIH Pro League, the Nations Cup, domestic and international hockey and how to develop the sport on South Africa.

Photo credit; World Sports Pics & Rodrigo Jaramillo.

Follow the link below to listen to the episode on Spotify…
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7F3NCY7ja5Yw3MxUgKugLL?si=DmmpbuHZTs2QwST5AHNr7A&utm_source=copy-link

Half Court Press
⁠⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠⁠
Facebook & Twitter;
Threads & Instagram; Half Court Press

The Half Court Press Podcast is available on…

iTunes
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Breaker
Overcast
Pocket Casts
RadioPublic

The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon…

A Little Book About Hockey
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠⁠

A Little Book About Football
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH

27/08/2026

Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well.

Episode seven is with former the South African ladies goalkeeper and captain Phumelela Hlophe (née Mbande). A successful player in her day, she played in several major tournaments more than once, including the World Cup and the hockey tournament of the Commonwealth Games, whilst winning gold medals at the African Cup of Nations. Her experiences at the elite level, whilst being a part of a broadly amateur programme, provide an interesting perspective on how to grow the game. In this episode we chat about a variety of competitions including the FIH Pro League, the Nations Cup, domestic and international hockey and how to develop the sport on South Africa.

Photo credit; Marcel Sigg.

Follow the link below to listen to the episode on Spotify…
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7F3NCY7ja5Yw3MxUgKugLL?si=DmmpbuHZTs2QwST5AHNr7A&utm_source=copy-link

Half Court Press
⁠⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠⁠
Facebook & Twitter;
Threads & Instagram; Half Court Press

The Half Court Press Podcast is available on…

iTunes
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Breaker
Overcast
Pocket Casts
RadioPublic

The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon…

A Little Book About Hockey
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠⁠

A Little Book About Football
⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH⁠

18/08/2026

Can we help out Scottish Hockey Heritage?

16/08/2026

🏑 Road to the Women's Hockey World Cup – Scotland in 1998 🌍

The Women's Hockey World Cup is here, and so we look at another chapter from Scotland's hockey history.

📸 This time we're looking back at the Scotland squad that competed at the 1998 Women's Hockey World Cup.

For those selected, a World Cup appearance represented the highest level of international competition and the chance to test themselves against the best players in the world.

Do you recognise any familiar faces? We'd love to hear from players, officials, supporters and anyone who has memories connected to the tournament.

16/08/2026

As the Irish ladies kick off their hockey World Cup campaign, here is a throwback to when their full back Sarah McAuley appeared on the Half Court Press Podcast…



https://open.spotify.com/episode/50Tf5zZ7frWRHvLkf7gil8?si=MOEHhH5UTAK2y5pdRCJ-VQ&utm_source=copy-link

The Half Court Press Podcast · Episode

15/08/2026

This fantastic hockey goalkeeper special came out three years ago today. It features Amy Tennant of England, Tommy Alexander of Scotland and Jean Danneberg, who’s currently playing for Germany in the World Cup

15/08/2026

Women’s Hockey World Cup

UK Viewers - Channel 4 YouTube

Germany vs. Scotland

The world's best battle for glory in the FIH Hockey World Cup. 16 m...

09/08/2026

In this clip Rod Gilmour gives his thoughts on the comparative importance of the Olympic Games and the FIH World Cup to the sport of hockey. To listen to the full episode you can find the Half Court Press Podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Pod...

09/08/2026

Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well.

Episode six is with hockey journalist Rod Gilmour. He is the editor of the well known publication The Hockey Paper. Rod has had a long and broad journalism career. Over the past 25 years he has covered sports such as cricket and squash, as well as hockey. He has reported upon events including the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Hockey World Cup for several national newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph and his own aforementioned outlet. Gilmour has also penned several books, including Seoul Glow; the Story Behind Great Britain’s 1998 Hockey Gold - a historical account of GB Men’s Olympic success. In this episode we chat about various aspects of the media within field hockey, including how outlets can help support the game. We also talk about the various tournaments that we see across the sport, such as the FIH Pro League and how this affects participation.

In this clip Rod Gilmour gives his thoughts on the comparative importance of the Olympic Games and the FIH World Cup to the sport of hockey. To listen to the full episode you can find the Half Court Press Podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Follow the link to listen to the episode on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/64eKumi3EbOEzhII3c5Pfh?si=5b3a86e89f84457d

Half Court Press
www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com
Facebook & Twitter;
Threads & Instagram;

The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon…

A Little Book About Hockey
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6

A Little Book About Football
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH