Meet Britain’s Jacob Draper — Economics nerd who straddles between Amsterdam and London for hockey

Jacob Draper has played hockey for Wales, represented Great Britain at two Olympics, and made rapid strides in club hockey too, the most recent being his stint at SG Pipers in the Hockey India League. Hockey comes first on his LinkedIn profile as well. But the 27-year-old also nurtures his love for economics.

Straddling between the Pinoke Hockey Club in Amsterdam and national duties for Great Britain in London is not enough. When he’s not wielding a stick on the hockey turf, Draper is occupied with Excel sheets, working as a financial analyst for a private investment firm.

“I needed something that could work around hockey. I’ve always been quite nerdy. I always loved economics, how money works. My parents strongly wanted me to go to university. After graduating, I started pursuing hockey full-time. But again, I’m somebody who needs to be entertained or stay busy. That’s kind of where the motivation to work came from. It’s essentially a finance brokerage for companies, or individuals who do financing. I’ve been doing that for the past six years. I absolutely love it,” Draper tells Sportstar.

But committing to all three roles demands keeping up with a gruelling weekly roster that requires Draper to transit between the two countries. There’s the odd trip to his hometown, Cardiff, too between all this. But work outside of hockey is more a downtime than a commitment, which helps in not veering off the schedule.

“I live in Amsterdam. From Monday to Wednesday, I’m in the UK for Great Britain training. On Wednesday evening, I fly to Amsterdam. It’s not a long flight. It’s like 40 minutes, so it’s not too bad,” he says.

“Then, I train on Thursday and Friday, and play for Pinoke on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the fixture before flying back to London. I work every day around hockey. I feel a bit more refreshed when I get back on the hockey field. On my days off, I’ll spend a full day working. I get the hours in there,” he says.

Hockey has taken Draper to the Olympics. The sport, however, was a late interest in his life. Born in a family obsessed with football, it was naturally what Draper got acquainted with first. His grandfather introduced him to it, and his mother’s Merseyside roots got him to support Liverpool. “I just had a choice between red or blue, honestly. Glad I chose the right team,” Draper says. He’s cherished cricket too, but he’d rather not bring it up now given England’s misfortunes in Australia recently.

Football, though, was consistent. He was enrolled in an academy early and broke through the youth team at Cardiff City FC. But the strenuous competition to break through the bottleneck into professional football made him lose touch with the game. That is when his best friend nudged him towards a new avenue.

“For me, I think specialising young is a little bit harmful. I think when you’re a child, there’s a huge benefit in trying everything. You develop different skills, getting much more exposure playing different sports.

“Fortunately enough, I wasn’t a bad footballer. I was okay. But I got to a point where football was quite high-pressure. I fell out of love with the game a little bit and turned my outlook to hockey. My best friend at the time played, so I probably played my first game with him. It resembled a lot of football. I was kicking the ball a lot and it wasn’t great, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ten or twelve years later, here I am,” Draper says.

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Having a hockey club a stone’s throw away helped Draper pursue the interest further. At Gwent Hockey Club, it turned into a serious ambition. He holds the place in such high regard, that four of his younger siblings enrolled there after him. The club has as many as nine age-group sides that helped him transition into the senior circuit. By 2018, Draper was playing for Wales at the European Championships.

It was at these Championships that Draper caught the eye of Danny Kerry, Great Britain hockey’s head coach, who would open doors for Draper to soar higher in the sport. He still has Kerry’s voice note saved from when he extended an invitation to train with the Great Britain camp.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. We’d flown back from Antwerp after the Euros, that was our [Wales] first A division tournament. I landed in London and my phone showed a missed call from Danny Kerry. I had no service in the air, but he left a voicemail. I listened and he just said I played quite well and he would like me to train with the GB team. Quite an emotional, overwhelming time to say the least. I rang my mum first off, told her the news and then got to be fortunate enough to be able to play for Great Britain,” he says.

The transition into a larger pool, with vastly greater skills was not really tough. Within three years, Draper was part of the squad for the Tokyo Olympics. But Draper savoured his new side for other reasons too. Joining Great Britain also brought the chance to observe Ashley Jackson and Barry Middleton from close quarters.

“You can’t say GB hockey without mentioning Barry Middleton and Ashley Jackson. I trained with him [Jackson] and played with him too, probably. He was at the end of his career but the guy is pure class. If you go to England or go to the UK and ask anybody who their idol is, they would say it’s either Barry Middleton or Ashley Jackson. England won Europeans in the late 2000s and they were a huge part of that team,” he says.

Now, 63 caps into his Great Britain career, Draper is a linchpin in the side. He has been part of teams that stumbled in back-to-back Olympics quarterfinals against India. The shootout loss at Paris 2024 pinches a bit harder since his team was one man up for nearly three quarters after a red card was issued to Amit Rohidas.

“Paris was probably the most painful experience probably because of how the game went and the squad that we had. I remember being happy. Unfortunately for him [Rohidas], he’s an incredibly talented player, important for India, so when the red card happened, I was happy. I’m a competitor at the end of the day, but I would say that India showed a tremendous amount of fight and character,” he says.

Despite the loss, Draper adds that India thriving at the global stage benefits the sport in general. Hockey India League coming back to the international calendar, and then expanding to three cities in its second iteration are results of India’s recent exploits.

“I think when India is doing well at the Olympics, hockey is doing well because you have such an amazing fan base and a huge support system over here. It’s not a good sign when Indian hockey isn’t doing well. So, the last two Olympics, it’s been incredibly important and really good for hockey as a whole,” he says.

His admiration for Indian hockey though is pipped by his desperation to finally win at the Olympics. He’s already looking at the Los Angeles Olympics. India can win or lose, but Great Britain has to win. Being more experienced now, Draper puts the burden on himself to grab the coveted medal.

“International hockey now is so close. Any team on their day can beat anyone. I’m a big believer in everything happening for a reason, so I look now towards LA 2028. I look at the squad that we have and go with the same goal of winning a medal,” Draper says.

Published on Jan 05, 2026