Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Gilham-Jones.
Ross, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
So you’ll never believe it but the very first object I held was a Field Hockey stick – clearly, I was born for the sport. My Dad flew in from India on the day I was born and brought back a mini slazenger hockey stick, not flowers for my mom but a stick for me. So the saying “ever since I was born” I have actually played the sport couldn’t be more true. I grew up playing with my Dad and by the time I was 11 we both played in the same team, for the Folkestone Optimists in England. What an absolute dream it was lining up next to my Dad.
I loved sport, any sport you could think of I’d get stuck in – Cricket, Soccer, Rugby, Tennis, Badminton, etc. But, playing field hockey was the one I was best at – I played for my school, county, region and at age 14 I transferred clubs to Canterbury HC to push myself to become the best player I could be. At 15 I stopped playing any other sport and dedicated myself to field hockey, I wanted to be the best. I went on to represent England and Great Britain throughout the junior age groups, U16, U18 & U21. Scoring a hat-rick in the European championship, winning a silver medal at the Youth Olympics, Captaining my country and being selected for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games squad at the age of 21 are definitely some highlights.
At 22, my playing career was going from strength to strength before severing the tendon in my hand and having a complete shoulder reconstruction. What an absolute nightmare! Three surgeries in 18 months and some time out of the sport. It was then I realized my passion was not only playing the game but, also passing my experience and knowledge onto the next generation of athletes. I finished my degree in Sport and Exercise Science and decided that this was the dream I wanted to chase – the hockey lifestyle, playing and coaching all over the world.
I created Leap Hockey in 2014 – a platform for athletes to Learn from my experiences of playing at the top level. Enjoy the process. Achieve their dreams and ultimately Progress to the next level. I had a vision to create the ultimate hockey lifestyle and give the next generation the opportunity to #taketheleap.
I moved to Perth, Australia and really went after it! Coaching many athletes on how to reach the pinnacle of the sport and playing for YM in the Premier League with Olympians Eddie Ockenden, Tyler Lovell and Jamie Dwyer. What an experience! We won the championship that year and safe to say this is where my career excelled.
I moved to Melbourne the following two seasons to grow Leap Hockey and experience playing on the east coast of Australia. I’m so glad I made that move – I played for the most welcoming, professional, fun, family-oriented club, Doncaster HC. Although we didn’t win the championship, we came very close and what a wicked group of people. I couldn’t speak more highly of a club, it was by far my favorite experience. To top it off, I met my amazing wife Laura there. Well in fact we met on the flight from Australia to England, but that’s another story.
Leap was growing and I was running Academies all over Melbourne, just what I wanted – playing hockey for an awesome club and coaching as many players as possible to unleash their potential. Three months after Laura and I met, however, Laura got a job with Free People in Philadelphia. It wasn’t even a tough decision, I was ready to hang up the stick professionally and focus on my coaching career at the age of 25.
So that was it, onto the next adventure in the USA – I joined WC Eagles as a full-time coach and with over 400 athletes I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. I won multiple National Champions and although Leap Hockey took a back seat during this process, I was enjoying coaching at the highest level.
A huge goal of mine was to coach in a US College. I actually mentioned it to Laura on that plane ride from Australia to England and was determined to make it a reality. I used to drive past Temple University’s field hockey field every day on the way to work and envisioned coaching there at some point. A year later, I became the Assistant Field Hockey coach of Division 1 school Temple University. Another goal, tick! I spent two seasons with the Owls and what an awesome growth experience it was. Although we didn’t get the results we were after, with my help and expertise we climbed 4 spots in the league the second season, pushing for that playoff spot.
Next stop Los Angeles, in a bid to grow the game before the LA 2028 Olympics, it was time for the West Coast of America! I wanted to grow Leap even more and play hockey again, the west coast was where it was at. I could play in a men’s league and really get stuck into the growth of the sport whilst developing athletes too. We road-tripped from Philly to LA with our two dogs and landed a day before the pandemic hit. Everything shut down, but at least we were in the sunshine. This was a really tough time, we were on one wage in a really expensive city, We didn’t know anyone and I couldn’t work, plaid who knew when the turf fields would open back up.
I did everything I could and started training with the USA men’s national team on a roller hockey rink once things started to open back up. The field hockey turf was linked to one of the colleges and unfortunately didn’t open for a whole year. Crazy but, we made it work – every morning we’d train on the rink and I was loving playing again, especially at a great standard. I managed to get a job with Kilogear Cut, Y1 Hockey and things were starting to look up, I was coaching as much as I could but with the field still closed. We had to make do with the local tennis court. With this being extremely different I really started pushing some exciting content on the Leap Hockey Instagram and I was even running training sessions from the living room for athletes to get elite training from anywhere.
Growing Leap as much as possible, I planned some larger events and in January 2021, I ran a 6-week academy at Hummingbird Nest’s wine tasting venue. It was the only venue I could get hold of because of Covid. They had a 60 x 80 ft turf and with some pop-up goals from Bownet we turned it into the ultimate training arena. My good friend Graeme Jackson filmed the sessions and we created the ultimate marketing package for future academies that year.
I went on to run 6 more Leap Academies for athletes to excel and push the limits of their game. What a summer I had with over 100+ players coming through the Leap Academy to learn from my experiences. Running one in Austin Texas, I met Adam Falla and we really hit it off. Adam was running Vital Hockey an online field hockey coaching platform and he suggested merging Leap and Vital together. I wasn’t sure how it would work exactly, but it seemed like an amazing idea – we’d have the in-person training academies and would also be able to work with athletes online too! Just, I was in LA and Adam was in Austin, not exactly driving distance on a daily.
Well, that problem was soon solved pretty soon after. You couldn’t write it – Laura got asked to run the first Free People fitness studio in AUSTIN of all places. So we moved to Austin in October 2021 and merged Leap and Vital Hockey together. I am now growing the sport in Austin, running elite training sessions for Lonestar FH Club and Adam and I are running live online training sessions, 5 nights a week with 10 academies coming up this year. Plus, we have recently partnered with Watch•Hockey to provide their online coaching content for users across the globe.
I really am living my dream and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I have some very exciting ideas up my sleeve, so watch this space. Dream big and go after it, you only get one life, so take the leap!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Living away from home is a challenge with no family around it definitely makes things harder sometimes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We’ve designed the first ever online hockey coaching platform. It’s like the Peloton of field hockey – a fantastic way for athletes to develop their skills, strength and conditioning from anywhere. All they need is a Leap Hockey membership, a screen and a stick and ball. We have the best players and coaches in the world to learn from. With feedback during the session and written feedback after each session, athletes really can excel in the sport and unleash their potential.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Listening and learning from everyone you meet is amazing for building a dream. You can take the good ideas and leave the bad ideas. Add all the good things together and you’ll nail it.
Contact Info:
- Website: leaphockey.com
- Instagram: Leaphockey
- Facebook: Leaphockey
