A PE teacher who was named Hockey Coach of the Year at a national awards ceremony said she was 'completely overwhelmed' by the recognition.
Lottie Porter, who has taught hockey at Great Marlow School for the last seven years, was awarded the Coach of the Year prize at the England Hockey Awards in a ceremony held in Leicester earlier this month.
She said: "I am completely overwhelmed and unreservedly grateful for the nomination. I am passionate about hockey and the impact it can and does have with our students.
"We will continue to make it accessible to our entire student cohort, whilst challenging the best of the best schools in the most prestigious of competitions."
Prior to receiving the award, Lottie helped Great Marlow School become the only state school to compete in and win the England Hockey Tier 3 Championships.
Fellow PE teacher Steve Goodright said in his nomination letter: “Miss Porter has worked relentlessly to develop hockey at Great Marlow School.
“The sport was represented before she began her career, but only by one team which was an amalgamation of three year groups.
“Today, Great Marlow School boasts teams in each year group for male and female players respectively. We are blessed with upward of 200 players who regularly represent the school in local, district, county, regional and even national competitions.”
He added that alongside helping students to achieve outstanding levels of performance, Lottie’s aim is to make hockey widely accessible to the school’s diverse student body.
“She has a genuine passion for working with young people. It is without doubt that she should be recognised for her tireless efforts to improve provision and performance for the children in our school.”
Lottie was also nominated by many parents of students at Great Marlow School and ultimately beat out multiple club coaches for the title of National Coach of the Year 2022/23.
England Hockey said she won the award for her "championing of state school hockey" alongside "being an inspiration to so many".
The England Hockey Awards is an annual event to celebrate people across the country contributing to and championing the sport.
Other award categories include Rising Star, Hockey Maker of the Year, Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement prize.
This year's ceremony was presented by Notts Sport and took place at the Athena in Leicester on Saturday, July 1.
Click here to view the full list of winners.
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