Alan Forsyth retires from international hockey

After 160 caps and 101 goals for Scotland, and 213 combined caps with 122 combined goals for Scotland and GB, Alan Forsyth has announced his retirement from international hockey.

Amongst his many achievements Alan is the only Scotland senior men’s player to compete in four Commonwealth Games playing in, Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018, and Birmingham 2022. He is the youngest Scotland player to receive 50 caps and earned a plethora of individual awards down the years.

Alan said, “Retiring has been at the back of my mind for a while and now feels like it’s the right time. There’s a young team in place ready to build something and I’m looking forward to watching that happen.

“I actually got an update recently on my LinkedIn profile that said I’d been playing for Scotland for over 15 years – that’s a long time. I’ve been lucky to have not picked up any injuries so I was able to play longer than a lot of people, but I’m ready to stop now.”

It was an immediate impact that Alan had in the Scotland squad as he became the youngest player ever to reach 50 caps. Alan recalled, “The first time I joined up with the senior squad was when John Royce called me into a camp at Inverclyde. I was about 16 years old at the time and needed a lift to get there. There was a lot of Kelburne boys in the team at that time and I remember just really looking forward to training with the guys I knew from the club. I was lucky that I knew a lot of the players, so I felt part of the team right from the start, but obviously I got to know guys like Graham Moodie; Stephen Dick; and Ali McGregor. It was an amazing experience.”

Scotland then went to compete at a European tournament, and as retirements often follow major tournaments Alan found himself part of the new squad that emerged. His debut came in a three match test series away to Ireland, under Russell Garcia, against an Ireland team pushing for Olympic qualification. It was the beginning of an international career that would take the Paisley goal scorer all over the globe.

Alan was given a good grounding in the team; he roomed with Graham Moodie and found himself in the midst of banter with likes of Ali McGregor. “I was team boy for about seven years, as there hadn’t been a new cap for ages, but I’d always get given little tasks on top of that. If I didn’t know someone I’d have to go away and come back with ten facts. They appreciated that I did it.

“Rooming with Moods was brilliant. I was still playing U21s, and he’d just been made U21s head coach, so I learned so much from him.”

In 2010 Alan was working as a joiner, and was delighted to able to negotiate time off to represent Scotland in Delhi at the Commonwealth Games – a tournament he thought might have been a little too early for him. Head Coach Russell Garcia had other ideas, and the tournament turned out to be one of the highlights in Alan’s career.

“Delhi was an unbelievable experience, I absolutely loved it,” he explained, “I was in an apartment with Moods; Gaz Hall; Niall Stott; and Stephen Dick. I was a lot younger than them so they basically looked after me the whole time. Being in the apartment with them was incredible, and I felt really comfortable as part of the squad.

“I’m lucky enough to have played four Commonwealth Games and Delhi is up there with the best. I played well. Russell pulled me aside to tell me how well I played, and to live in the moment because when you’re young these moments can pass you by, and you just move onto the next tournament. I loved the tournament, Delhi was brilliant.”

The Forsyth name is synonymous with hockey, and with the Scotland Men’s National Team. Alan’s older brother David played alongside him for Scotland and it’s the thing that Alan is most proud of.

“The highlight of my career is playing with my brother. We have a very good relationship, we’re not the kind of siblings that fall out or anything, we’re very close. It’s so special to have played for Scotland alongside him, and we played two Commonwealth Games together. One of my favourite moments was when I got my 100th cap, and David got his 50th cap, at the same game in Glasgow. People thought it was planned but it wasn’t.”

In 2013 Alan and David’s father Derek Forsyth was named as Scotland men’s head coach. It’s a unique situation to have a father and two sons involved in the same national team, but for the Forsyth family it was business as usual.

Alan recalled, “It didn’t change anything. My dad was always involved in hockey, and had coached most of the players in the team. Anyone who knew him, or had worked with him, would know that he being our dad didn’t change anything. He was a winner, and ruthless as a coach, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. If anything there were more disagreements, but he was always about making us the best team we could be, and the best players everyone in the team could be.”

Glasgow 2014 was a huge year for Scottish sport, and hosting a home Games offered a unique experience for all the athlete’s involved. Scotland men finished 8th following a defeat to Malaysia in the play off. There was a 4-3 win over Wales in the pool alongside defeats to South Africa; India; and Australia. For Alan, there were two sides to Glasgow 2014.

Alan said, “I’m very performance focussed and we didn’t perform as well as we’d have liked in Glasgow. We should have done better, so on a performance level it’s not one of my favourite memories from my career. Away from the pitch it was incredible. Having family and friends there was amazing, but also everywhere you went there was so much support. I remember we went to do a Q&A in town somewhere and we got clapped walking down the stairs, everyone was cheering us in the streets, and that’s quite unusual as a hockey player. So many people wished us well.”

2016 kick started an incredible period for the Scotland men’s team. After qualifying through two rounds in Glasgow and Belfast in 2016, the Blue Stick reached the World League Semi-Finals in London in 2017, surpassing all expectations. It was an exceptional achievement for the team and saw them take on top tier sides India; the Netherlands; Pakistan; Canada; and Korea.

Alan remembers this period fondly, “Individually, for me, 2017 was one of my best hockey years – I won everything I could win. For the World League semis, getting there was such an achievement, call it an over achievement. It was a great experience, but what it did do was get us ready for the Euros in Glasgow.”

The Glasgow National Hockey Centre was the venue for Men’s EuroHockey Championship II 2017, a tournament that would prove to be one of the high points in the history of the Scotland Men’s National Team. The Blue Sticks earned qualification for the EuroHockey Championships after so many years of coming close, and not only that, they claimed the gold medal at the tournament on home soil.

In the final it was Forsyth who struck the winning goal to earn a 2-1 victory over Wales and round off an exceptional tournament. Alan finished the tournament as top goal scorer.

“One of my favourite moments was the Euros in Glasgow. The team had been building up to that point, and there was a lot of pressure on us to finally qualify, but we had the home crowd and it was a special experience. It was so good to finally get over the line, and it was a personal high for me as I got top scorer and player of the tournament as well.”

In the blink of an eye it was the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast where Scotland were drawn in a pool with Australia; New Zealand; South Africa; and Canada before taking on Malaysia in the play-off.

The tournament began with outstanding victory over South Africa. With Alan scoring the third in a 4-2 win, and finishing the tournament as Scotland’s top scorer with four goals. Scotland finished the tournament in an impressive sixth place.

Alan explained, “Gold Coast was my favourite Commonwealth Games. It was an odd feeling going into the tournament, as we lost our gran just before, and she was always such a big supporter. It was a sad moment for the family. Then Gold Coast got started and it ended up our highest ever finish at the Games, and the village was amazing. Obviously the weather was incredible too, and my girlfriend Robyn was selected for Scotland women as well, so she was there too. In the end it was one of the absolute high points for me.”

Gold Coast was quickly followed by the EuroHockey Championships in Antwerp, and at long last Scotland stepped out at the top tier of European international hockey.

The Scots went up against Germany; Ireland; the Netherlands; Wales; and England, with the cruelty of goal difference seeing the team relegated.

“I think A division came a little too early for us,” Forsyth recalled, “A lot of retirements happened after Gold Coast, with a lot of new players coming in, and we just didn’t have enough time together. We deserved to be there, and made a good account of ourselves, and it was a good learning experience about what it takes to stay at that level. Goal difference put us down, so the circumstances were really sad, so it just came too soon for us.”

Alan led Scotland as captain into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. A quite incredible opening match saw the Scots draw 5-5 with New Zealand, before Scotland faced Australia; South Africa; Pakistan; and Ghana.

Forsyth is humble about the honour of captaincy, saying, “I always felt responsibility so being captain didn’t change my role very much. We were an exciting team but performances only get you so far, you also need some tournament knowledge. New Zealand is a perfect example of that, being so many goals ahead and the experience of their players got them back in.

“To be captain was so special, but I never changed what I did. It was just an armband at the end of the day.”

WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT ADY KERRY

Not only was Alan talismanic for Scotland, he also regularly found the net for GB. Alan’s goal scoring prowess earned him a first call-up to play for Great Britain in 2015 and he immediately found the target on his debut against Argentina. A regular in the Pro League, he was also a pivotal part of GB men’s gold medal winning Sultan Azlan Shah Cup team in 2017, scoring four goals in the process and being awarded Player of the Final. He was announced as a travelling reserve for the Tokyo Olympics, however, missing out on playing at the Olympics three times is understandably a deep frustration for the striker.

On his GB career, Alan said, “I’ve had some really good moments with GB, though I’m so disappointed to not play at the Olympics. It was always my goal so missing out three times does put a cloud over things. I did everything I possibly could to get there, and help the team.

“Looking back over the nine years, I feel privileged to be a full time hockey player. I’m proud to have reached 50 caps before the Pro League came in – before the Pro League, reaching 50 caps was a hard thing to do. I got to make my GB debut with Chris Grassick and Gordon McIntyre on the pitch. As well as the players I already knew, some of my best friends have been made through GB.”

Retiring from playing international hockey has been a tough decision to make for Forsyth as it has been a huge part of his life, but he leaves a tremendous legacy and has inspired many to pick up a stick.

Alan said, “I’ve had an amazing time. Playing with my brother was so special, and reaching 160 caps with 101 goals is something to be proud of. I’ll always be proud of playing four Commonwealth Games; winning B division in Glasgow; that 2017 year; and playing with all my best mates.

“There’s too many people to mention. Chris Grassick; Kenny Bain; Michael Bremner, who I played with since I was seven years old; Gordon McIntyre; William Marshall; the Christie brothers; Gaz Hall; Graham Moodie; Ali McGregor; Andy Bull… there’s so many, so I apologise for missing anyone out.

“My mum has always been my number one fan and the best supporter anyone could have, and I need to mention my dad. He was the biggest influence on my career, and the best person I could ever have asked for.”

A huge congratulations from all at Scottish Hockey to Alan Forsyth on a fantastic Scotland and GB career.

Alan Forsyth, Scotland v Australia, 31/7/22
Photo: David McCarthy

 

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