The domestic hockey season may be over but for Kew’s Holly Munro there will be no time to put her stick and shin guards away for the summer, as she bids for a Junior World Cup berth with England.

The 17-year-old has claimed back-to-back Women’s Hockey League titles with club side Surbiton, winning this year’s competition after a shootout against Canterbury last month.

But there was no time to sit back and toast her success at club level, as Munro was straight off north of the border to battle bitter rivals Scotland with England Under-18s.

In two matches against their U18 counterparts England won 7-1 and 7-2, before beating Scotland’s U21 side 5-1 despite being several years their junior.

And with July’s EuroHockey Championships in Cork still to prepare for, as well as hoping for a spot in England’s U21 side for the Junior World Cup before heading off to the University of Birmingham, Munro admits her year is only just beginning.

“We’ve played Scotland U17s twice recently, and beaten them both times which was a fantastic achievement,” said the Surbiton High School student.

“We beat their U21 side as well, so to do as well as we did away from home was a big bonus. We’ve got another match against Germany coming up so that is something to look forward to, and even though all my club and school hockey is finished the international season is really just starting.

“We have the Europeans in the summer with England which will be great, and then maybe I could make the squad for the junior World Cup in Chile as well – that would be amazing.

“I’m hoping to take on more of a leadership role at the Europeans. Having played last year I feel like I’ve got quite a lot of experience now and hopefully we can build on the bronze we won then. It’s really exciting times as we have such a promising team now.

“In terms of the junior World Cup, we’ll have to see. I’m going to university in September and there will be trials then as well.

“I’m also only 17 and it’s the under-21 age category, but it’s a great opportunity and something to build towards.”

Munro was speaking at the SSE Women’s Invitational golf day, where alongside fellow SSE Next Generation athletes she was part of a panel of rising stars that addressed the 120 female professionals in attendance.

The SSE Next Generation programme was set up in 2013 and with the help of charity SportsAid, provides funding and support to young athletes who have been identified by their respective governing bodies as having the potential to reach a high level in their sport.

The programme provides support to more than 100 athletes in 36 different sports and along with the £1,000 grant, offers media and social media training, advice on nutrition and mentoring.

Munro added: “The SSE Women’s Invitational golf day was a nice opportunity to get to share all the opportunities that I have been given as part of the Next Gen scheme, and hopefully raise a bit more awareness for it as well.

“All the funding is so important in terms of getting us through training and around to where we need to be as well, and it’s a big boost to be recognised as an up-and-coming athlete.

“Talking in panels and meeting lots of new people is only going to be helpful for me, and it was so interesting to hear about Judy Murray and the way she handled her kids as young athletes.

“I felt like I could relate to what they had been through a lot, and it was inspirational for me as well as she has done so much to advance women’s sport – even if it’s tennis not hockey.”

SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen