Tassie Tiger Holly Gilbar on her rise from Toowoomba hockey

Four months ago, Holly Gilbar quit her job as a school teacher in Toowoomba to chase her hockey dream in Tasmania. This is the story of her remarkable rise to a Hockey One League debut.

Holly Gilbar in action during her debut. Photo: Hockey One.

It’s been an extraordinary ascension for midfielder Holly Gilbar who made an impressive Hockey One League debut as the Tassie Tigers earned their first points in their season opener on Saturday.

After going without any points last year, the Tigers came from two goals down to secure a 3-3 draw with 2022 winners NSW Pride, before failing to secure a bonus point in a penalty shootout loss.

Gilbar’s season began in Queensland, with the 28-year-old playing club hockey and working as a school teacher in Toowoomba.

After being the inaugural goal scorer for Australia at the Hockey5’s World Cup in Oman, the former Australian Indoor Hockey and Australian Country representative was looking around for a new challenge.

Four months ago, Gilbar left her job and linked up with University Hockey Club in the Tasmanian Premier League, starring as they rose up the table to finish runners-up.

“Returning back home after those international tournaments, I found that I was falling into a routine and losing a bit of my spark for hockey,” Gilbar said.

“Hockey One was never really something that was on my radar however after talking to my coach in Toowoomba, he suggested that a move down to Tasmania could present my next challenge.

“The idea was to play in Hobart, experience something new and if a spot in the Tigers came along with that, then that would be the cherry on top.”

Holly Gilbar in action in Queensland. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Gilbar initially missed selection in the Tigers squad of 25 athletes and was offered the opportunity to train with the squad only.

“I received a call saying that while I had impressed in the Hobart competition, I would need to pay my dues, and if I stuck it out then I might have a shot at being a member of the Tigers in 2025,” she said.

“While it would have been easier to stay in Queensland…I knew that if I was going to continue to improve and challenge myself, then I needed to give myself the opportunity to be in a high-performance environment, and luckily enough for me, a spot opened up.”

After making the cut for two practice matches, Gilbar admitted it was a nervous wait to see if she’d earned a debut.

“I was glued to my emails all morning (and) … to see my name on the list for our Hockey One opener made all of the challenges in the lead up worth it,” she said.

And how was the experience of earning her debut for game one, against international stars such as Hockeyroo Mariah Williams and Great Britain’s Hannah Martin?

“It was amazing to finally step onto the field with the girls for our first game, especially in front of a home crowd and pretty surreal to be playing with and against some players who are considered the best in the world.”

Gilbar will look to hold her spot as the Tigers travel to face the Perth Thundersticks on Sunday night from 5.30pm AEDT.