Too small. Too dynamic. Do less. These were the words Maddie Hinch heard over and over in training. Now she’s earned over 150 caps for England and Great Britain, taken European gold, Olympic gold, and been recognised as the FIH Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year a record three times. She believed she could, and she did.
Undeterred by gender stereotypes, low expectations of coaches, and not being selected for teams early on in her career, Hinch maintained a rare, undying sense of self-belief. She was resilient and used the rejection as fuel to work even harder, refusing to let it deter her from her goals. She took bold steps, relocating and sacrificing her university scholarship in a bid to learn more, improve her play, and hope to get noticed. She did.
Athletes often talk about highs and lows when it comes to their careers and perhaps the most challenging setback Hinch faced was not getting selected for the London 2012 Olympic team at age 24. She could have let this moment shatter her dream. Give up. Stop playing hockey all together. But she didn’t. She looked back at all the highs and lows she’d already faced and knew she could overcome this too. When the next opportunity approached, she came back stronger and didn’t let anyone stand in her way.
Rio de Janeiro, Olympic finals 2016, Hinch was ready. She famously saved all four penalties and team GB claimed Olympic gold.
Her journey to becoming the best was far from straightforward but she remains grateful for this. What could have been deemed as failures Hinch saw as learning opportunities that made her tougher. Determined to leave a lasting legacy, she continues to push herself and set her sights higher and higher and higher.
“Work out where your passion lies, work out what it is you wanna do. If you believe you can do it, and you're willing to put the work in, then just stick at it.”
