Half Court Press

04/10/2026

Came out five years ago today

09/09/2026

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.

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

The Half Court Press Podcast · Episode

08/09/2026

A heart warming profile, released four years ago today

04/09/2026

Coach intros - Edinburgh City 1s

Up first in our coach intros are our first team coaches - Sam and Dan! Learn a little bit more about them below ⬇️

Name: Sam
Coaching role: 1s trainer & coach
Favourite drill: 4v4, but airballs are a foul
Fun fact: People often mistake me for an adult due to my age

First name: Dan
Coaching role: 1s team coach
Favourite drill: Pyramids
Fun fact: I have league winners medals from 3 different countries!

Good luck Sam, Dan & the City 1 team for the upcoming season in Div 1 👏🏅

Photo credit (left): Gertrude de Vries

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