There was cause for celebration this month as Teacher of PE and hockey coach Mr Beckett helped guide Surbiton Women’s Hockey Club to the Women’s Hockey League Premier Division title following an outstanding unbeaten season.
Surbiton secured their 10th national title with a 4-2 victory over local rivals Wimbledon in the playoff final, completing a remarkable campaign which saw them win 19 matches and draw just two across the season. Mr Beckett has been coaching the team for three seasons and said one of the most rewarding parts of coaching is helping players develop individually while creating teams that people genuinely enjoy watching.
“We wanted to be the most exciting team in the league and in the country across both genders,” he said. “The players completely bought into that.”
That attacking approach paid off, with Surbiton scoring 80 goals during the season while also conceding the fewest in the league.
“One of the biggest compliments is when people come up after games and say they’ve enjoyed watching the team play,” Mr Beckett said. “You want young players watching and thinking, ‘I want to play like that.’”
Students at Trinity also benefit directly from Mr Beckett’s experience coaching at the highest level of the women’s game, where he works with international players and Olympians while leading one of the country’s top club sides. Having coached both men’s and women’s hockey throughout his career, Mr Beckett says the combination has been central to his development as a coach, allowing him to bring together different tactical demands and approaches into his work at Trinity.
“Women’s hockey is often very tactical and it challenges you as a coach in different ways,” Mr Beckett explained. “I have that similar balance now where I’m coaching the boys in school and the women’s team outside of school. Bringing together those experiences has definitely helped me develop.”
It has been an exciting period for hockey at Trinity. Last year, we unveiled a new elite-level hockey astro as part of the £40 million investment programme ahead of becoming fully co-educational from 2027. Participation and performance in hockey continue to grow across the school, including recent progress in girls’ indoor hockey, students playing for England U16s and increasing crossover into senior mixed training environments.
Scroll right to see more stories
