Kent hockey star Ashley Jackson is already dreaming of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but wants to focus on winning games for Holcombe first.

The 28 year old from Chatham made the move from East Grinstead to Rochester based Holcombe Hockey Club in the summer and now plays alongside the likes of Barry Middleton and George Pinner for the Kent side.

With the Olympics now not that far away, Jackson is already dreaming of standing on the top step of the podium around his neck, but doesn’t want to get too carried away just yet:

“This is the difficult thing we struggle with, especially with how the funding works. Everything builds up to the Olympics and that makes it difficult for the other three years as there are plenty of tournaments through that time.”

“They are a stepping stone to the Olympics, but we need to make sure we perform in those tournaments.”

“The next eight or nine months will fly by and before you know it we will be in Rio.”

“I really do believe we can win gold at Rio. We’ve got a great group and selection is now just around the corner. That’s when I like being around the group the most as that’s when you see that real fight for places.”

“The guys don’t just want to get selected to go to the Olympics, we want to go there and win the thing.”

One thing that’s really changed in recent years is the amount of coverage that hockey gets and Jackson is hoping the media and public continue to follow the sport he loves:

“Hockey is getting a lot more recognition than when I first started playing. London had an awful lot to do with that and both England Hockey and GB Hockey have done a great job over the past few years.”

“We have hosted some tournaments and we now have a fantastic venue at Lee Valley. We put on a great show in the summer at the European Championships and hockey really is a great sport for people to come and watch.”

“Hopefully we can continue to put on a show where people want to come back and watch more. I don’t think we really did enough of that in the past.”

“People used to turn up to a pitch in the middle of a field, the bar might be open, it might not, but things have improved and with the legacy of London, we can see things continually improve.”

Making the move from East Grinstead to Holcombe in the summer wasn’t an easy decision for Ashley, but one he thinks will be the right one in the long term and a conversation with Chairman David South cemented the deal:

“It was a very big decision and a lot of people knew how important it was for me making that decision. Playing against East Grinstead was a little bit strange especially with my brother playing on the other team.”

“What made it easier was there wasn’t too many guys in their team that I grew up playing with .”

“Holcombe is a huge club with people playing home or away every weekend and at the end of the day they end up back at the club supporting their first team, both the men and the ladies.”

“Speaking to David South, you can hear the passion he has for the club and there would be no way that the club would be where it is today without his drive and ambition. That’s without the amount of money he puts into the club.”

“It’s great to be a part of it and the financial side helps us build a squad capable of challenging.”

“From the outside you don’t realise quite how big the club is, how many teams are put out every weekend and how busy the clubhouse is, how frequently the pitches are in use and it’s great to be a part of all of that.”

Some critics of Holcombe have suggested the Kent club are trying to buy success, but Jackson doesn’t see it that way and believes it is up to every club to match the ambition of the Kent side:

“People can say what they want and there are various different angles that you can look at it from, but at the end of the day, David South is progressing the sport.”

“If he does it here at Holcombe, then all of the other clubs will have to do that across the Premier League and everyone is.”

“I certainly don’t believe anyone when they say they don’t want better players. Hockey is in limbo at the moment and maybe, just maybe, we might become a professional sport.”

“Each year there are more professional hockey players. You might not get huge money, but you get to live the life of a professional hockey player.”

“David is one of the pioneers that has driven that and the sport is moving on. If you don’t want to keep up, you can’t complain.”

Settling into being a role model at Holcombe, Jackson has been playing slightly deeper in recent weeks, but still popping up with crucial goals and he admits he’s more than happy to play anywhere and has nothing but praise for captain Barry Middleton who puts his body on the line in every game:

“Part of my role is that you may see me playing a bit deeper and passing the ball more or dribbling the ball and setting things up.”

“That’s Barry for you. Everyone is willing to do that and that’s what you have to do to compete at the top of this league.”

“This is the first year for some of these guys playing in the Premier League and the league is very strong this year. To get up to speed, you have got to be willing to put your body on the line.”

Holcombe currently sit second in the Men’s Premier Division having won five and drawn two of their opening seven league games and next up is league leaders Surbiton at home on Sunday 8th November with the game to start at 2:30pm.

Group picture supplied by Sam Holt Photography.