The Half Court Press Podcast

Tao MacLeod

This is a show that brings you a range of news and opinion on a variety of issues from the world of sports. The Half Court Press is a multi sports media outlet. You can download our PDF magazines from our website, watch videos on our YouTube channel, or listen to our podcasts. The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Breaker Overcast Anchor Pocket Casts RadioPublic

  1. Jun 11

    E06/S25 - Rod Gilmour; Hockey Development

    Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well. Episode six is with hockey journalist Rod Gilmour. He is the editor of the well known publication The Hockey Paper. Rod has had a long and broad journalism career. Over the past 25 years he has covered sports such as cricket and squash, as well as hockey. He has reported upon events including the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Hockey World Cup for several national newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph and his own aforementioned outlet. Gilmour has also penned several books, including Seoul Glow; the Story Behind Great Britain’s 1998 Hockey Gold - a historical account of GB Men’s Olympic success. In this episode we chat about various aspects of the media within field hockey, including how outlets can help support the game. We also talk about the various tournaments that we see across the sport, such as the FIH Pro League and how this affects participation. Half Court Press ⁠⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠⁠ Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon… A Little Book About Hockey ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠⁠ A Little Book About Football ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH⁠

  2. May 14

    E04/S25 - Lynne Morgan BEM; Hockey Development

    Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well. Lynne Morgan is a well known supporter of the sport of hockey, within the British Isles. Aside from being a Welsh Hockey superfan, she is also involved in the organisations the Hockey Museum and the Hockey Writers’ Club who look to support the growth of the sport in different ways. She is also a player for her local team Ashford (Middlesex) Hockey Club and represents Wales within the Masters setup. In 2023 Lynne was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s birthday honours for services to hockey. In this episode we chat about hockey in Wales and Britain, as well as major tournaments such as the World Cup and the Olympics and the juxtaposition between international and domestic games. Half Court Press ⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠ Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon… A Little Book About Hockey ⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠ A Little Book About Football ⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH⁠

  3. May 7

    E03/S25 - Simon Mason; Hockey Development

    Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well. Episode three is with Simon Mason, who is the Managing Director of Mercian Hockey, one of the top manufacturers of goalkeeping kit and other hockey related equipment. He is also one of the foremost English language commentators in the game, helping to provide media coverage of elite level competitions. Previously, Simon has represented the England and Great Britain men’s teams at the highest level, including events such as the Commonwealth Games, EuroHockey Championships and three Olympic Games. In this interview we chat about different tournaments (both domestic and international), the current state of hockey and how to develop the sport. Half Court Press www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon… A Little Book About Hockey https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6 A Little Book About Football https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH

  4. Apr 30

    E02/S25 - Scott Baird; Hockey Development

    Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well. Scott Baird is a member of the Uddingston Hockey Club, in the west of Scotland, for whom he is now their Honorary President. He has an extensive experience in administrative roles, which has included being Director and Chair of Scottish Hockey Union Ltd. (2011 – 2019), being the Honorary President of West District Hockey and serving on the Indoor Competitions Committee (2009 – 2021) and the Outdoor Competitions Committee (2022 - Present). Scott is also a Scottish National League standard umpire. However, he has also acted as a technical official for both the European Hockey Federation (EHF) and the Federation of International Hockey (FIH). In addition to this Baird is a member of the Scottish Hockey Heritage Group, who look to share the stories of Scottish Hockey. In this episode we chat about who the Scottish Hockey Heritage Group are and what they do, umpiring in the sport of hockey, as well as the role administrators in the development of the game.  Half Court Press ⁠www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com⁠ Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon… A Little Book About Hockey ⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6⁠ A Little Book About Football ⁠https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH⁠

  5. Apr 23

    E01/S25 - Kareena "Kaz" Cuthbert; Hockey Development

    Hockey Development is the latest series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod chats to a variety of hockey personalities, including players, coaches, umpires and media types on how to develop, grow and improve the sport, as well as discuss what’s already being done well. Kareena "Kaz" Cuthbert (née Marshall) is a former Scottish Hockey international and captain of the ladies team. She has represented her country at the 2010 and 2018 Commonwealth Games. Kaz has recently stepped back from her role as the player-coach of Western Wildcats Hockey Club, in Glasgow. Currently she is the Head of High Performance for Bowls Scotland. In this episode we chat about the juxtaposition between domestic and international tournaments and how to better develop the game, as well as her wider views on hockey across Great Britain.  This episode contains a small amount of strong language. Half Court Press www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic The Half Court Press editor, Tao MacLeod, has written two books, entitled A Little Book About Hockey and A Little Book About Football. You can buy them now from Amazon… A Little Book About Hockey https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDJMKHV6 A Little Book About Football https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMXWKFYH

  6. 07/24/2025

    E04/S24 - John Hardie (Rugby) & Matty Taylor (Hockey); Conversations in Sport

    Conversations in Sport is the twenty-fourth series of the Half Court Press Podcast. Here, Tao MacLeod talks to a variety of different sporting personalities, who have a range of roles and experiences within their respective games. We chat about a range of topics including domestic participation, international tournaments, as well as corporate responsibility within sport. In episode four we chat to John Hardie and Matthew Taylor, who both work within the sports programmes at Edinburgh Academy. John Hardie is a retired rugby player, who has moved into coaching. Born in New Zealand, he qualified to play for Scotland due to a familial link to the Scottish county of Fife. In New Zealand, he played for Southland and the Highlanders, before moving over to the UK. Here he played for Edinburgh and Newcastle Falcons. In 2015 John was picked to play for Scotland in the 2015 World Cup, reaching the quarter final stage. Since August 2024, John Hardie has been the Assistant Director of Rugby at the Edinburgh Academy.  Matty Taylor is a newly capped goalkeeper for the Scottish national hockey team. He was a part of the squad that won the inaugural second tier of the FIH Nations Cup, in Muscat, Oman, that was held in February 2025. Also, a teacher at Edinburgh Academy, he is one of the coaches within the private school’s hockey programme. Having come through the youth teams at Inverleith Hockey Club he turned out for their first team, before moving across to play for local rivals Grange and then the University of Edinburgh team, with whom he won the Scottish Cup. In this episode we chat about school and club sport, multi-sports education for youth players, as well as the potential benefits of professionalism for minority sports. Half Court Press www.halfcourtpressmagazine.com Facebook & Twitter; @HalfCourtPress1 Threads & Instagram; @half_court_press1 The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Breaker Overcast Pocket Casts RadioPublic

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

This is a show that brings you a range of news and opinion on a variety of issues from the world of sports. The Half Court Press is a multi sports media outlet. You can download our PDF magazines from our website, watch videos on our YouTube channel, or listen to our podcasts. The Half Court Press Podcast is available on… iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Breaker Overcast Anchor Pocket Casts RadioPublic