"VAN" (Sports Desk - 25.11.2025) :: As we inch ever closer to the start of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2025-26 season on 9 December, we are excited to bring you an exclusive pre-season interview series with players and coaches from the world’s top hockey nations participating in the “League of the Best”.
This series will dive into the minds of the sport’s finest athletes and coaches, uncovering their thoughts on the upcoming season, personal goals, and the strategies their teams are crafting to compete at the highest level. From seasoned veterans to rising stars, these interviews provide a unique glimpse into the passion, preparation, and drive that fuel the teams vying for glory.
In today’s interview we speak with David Ralph, coach of England women’s hockey team...
How is the squad looking ahead of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2025/26?
We recently started training again following the Europeans and one of the exciting parts of that is that we have been able to fully welcome several new squad members, who were not able to join us until now. So we feel more complete now and it helps add to the excitement and enjoyment as we look forward to a busy year coming up.
What are your expectations ahead of the start of the league?
Each Pro League season always throws different challenges at you, what you can always expect is a high level of competitive matches. We know we can perform better than we did last season and we are focussed on playing better across the season and putting ourselves in a better position than we did last season. We know that we start with some tough games against Ireland and Belgium, which we are looking forward to and we expect to compete well in these games and hit the ground running from game 1 this season.
Where is the squad's favourite place to play?
One of the good parts of the Pro League is that we get to experience playing in different countries and different atmospheres. Last season we enjoyed our trips to China and India, it was the first time to both those venues for the majority of our squad. Generally all the venues we travel to are good, though we do enjoy playing in Argentina, that's always a special experience given the support that comes out to watch those games.
How important is the home crowd for the squad?
It is always great to play games at home, we are very lucky to be able to play so often in front of a home crowd. For the players the opportunity to play in front of friends and family is really important and rewarding and to be able to do that so often is special and helps add to the occasion. It is always great to get the level of support we do at home and seeing how the players interact with the crowd before and after games is inspiring.
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