Rich Beer looks back on his first season as CEO of England Hockey

England Hockey used the end of the 2025/26 season to publish a reflection from CEO Rich Beer on his first year in charge. The piece starts from a simple idea: while sticks, bibs and kit bags are being put away, English hockey leaves behind thousands of matches and a huge structure that keeps running every weekend.

Beer places the emphasis on the base of the system: junior players, veterans, coaches, parents, umpires and volunteers who keep clubs, schools and universities moving every day. The federation stresses that much of that work goes unnoticed, from fixture planning to welfare, safeguarding and opening facilities early in the morning.

The piece works less as an announcement and more as an end-of-season institutional marker. England Hockey presents itself as a large community network and uses Beer's review to remind readers that the competitive value of the national calendar depends on the quiet work behind every matchday.