‘I was bullied at school but I genuinely look at hockey as saving my life’

England and GB’s former record scorer on becoming renowned corner specialist, feared flicker and being diagnosed with ADHD

Calum Giles was on the hockey pitch in a vets match before Christmas, with around 24 players on his side and a fair few subs to negotiate. It was a far cry from when Giles ruled the roost as the sole super rolling sub who tore up penalty corner defences 30 years ago.

Giles took to the pitch to mark Mark Wallace’s [father of Zach] move to Ireland for a teaching role after 25 years at Oxted HC. He recalls Zach as a young child behind the goal saying ‘C’mon, Calum’ and the pair even conjured a goal together that Giles scored in the vets match for good measure. 

“Everything seemed to go full circle,” says Giles, who today runs his Stickwise hockey camps and is head of hockey at Worth School. “I’m hockey through and through. It’s my whole life. It has been since I was five years old. So days like that meant quite a lot to me.”