Many congratulations to former student Steve Kelly who has been selected to compete for Wales Hockey at this summer's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Steve left King's in 2010 and we caught up with him this week to hear about the Games, his memories of King's and life now:

When were you at King's?

I was at King’s from 2002 - 2010.

House?

Serlo

What are your favourite memories from your time at King's?

My favourite memories at King’s mostly revolved around sport. House athletics days at The Prince of Wales Stadium, playing cricket at archdeacon, scoring a few hundreds including one against the MCC, playing hockey at Plock court. One of the best memories has to be the tour to Barbados in 2010, a great trip although not that successful on the cricket pitch!

What did you do after leaving school?

After school I went on a gap year to St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney, a fantastic arrangement organised by the school. After that I went on to study at Oxford Brookes University before moving to London.

What are you up to these days?

These days I am a teacher at Dulwich College in south east London. I still play cricket in the summers and play golf year round on top of the hockey. Outside of that I enjoy travelling, eating out and socialising with friends and family.

Tell us all about your Hockey Career:

I started my hockey career at Cirencester Hockey Club and at King’s. After school I took the year off hockey whilst in Australia. On my return I joined the hockey team at Oxford Brookes, captaining the 1st XI in my second year and being Social Secretary in my final year. During this time I competed for the Wales U21 team in the European Championship and started to train with the senior squad. Whilst at uni I also played for Oxford Hawks Hockey Club. After graduating I moved to London and to Surbiton Hockey Club, I spent 3 years at the club reaching the finals of both league and cup in each of those years. During that time I made my Senior debut for Wales against Scotland in June 2015. After this I moved to Hampstead and Westminster Hockey Club where I have been ever since. Again, we have made the finals of the league every year I have been at the club including winning the championship in 2019. Since my international debut I have played in 4 European Championships, 1 Commonwealth Games and numerous other ranking competitions. 

How excited are you to be playing in the Commonwealth Games? What will your time at the Games entail? 

I am incredibly excited for the upcoming Games. It will be my second Commonwealth Games, following my debut in the Gold Coast in 2018. Although Birmingham is not quite as glamorous a venue the home support will more than make up for that! The prep the commies has already begun off the pitch with kit and media days so the excitement has begun to build. A major games brings with it added excitement, the opening ceremony is sure to be a great evening with everyone in their Wales suits…. The village is always a fantastic place to meet new people from all different sports and get to know a bit about their culture and sport. With this the schedule also allows us to play teams we don’t always get a chance to play, some big tests in teams like India await us!

A long way from playing Hockey for King's! What are your memories of Hockey, and sport in general, during your time at school?

I loved my time on the sports fields at King’s. Captaining both hockey and cricket was a big honour for me and I always enjoy the fact I scored more goals and more hundreds than my brother did! Rugby lessons with Mr Phillips, hockey with Robbo and Cricket with Robbo and Mr Bressington were always highlights of my time at King’s.

What does the future hold?

The next little window is a busy one in terms of hockey and life for me. We have the Euro qualifiers a fortnight after the Commies and then the World Cup in January ’23, the first time Wales have ever qualified! In life I am getting married in 2024 as well as a few holidays planned in the meantime!

Good luck Steve, we will all be rooting for you!