‘Maddie Hinch inspired me to play hockey again – 22 years later’

South African Kevin Flee was denied a Sydney 2000 berth through injury and it took a GB great to help him don the pads once more, writes TOM KIPLING

Kevin Flee was 21 when he stopped playing hockey after a knee injury. He finally returned 22 years later after being inspired by Maddie Hinch’s heroic performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Hockey has been nothing but rewarding for Flee ever since.

Flee grew up in South Africa where most schools don’t play hockey, but he is forever grateful that he went to one that allowed him to play. “My parents, bless them, they worked hard to put my brother and I into a very fancy private school,” he tells The Hockey Paper.

Just like most schools, being a keeper was a task that very few signed up for, but Flee was the outlier.

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