Ben Hawes has never been one for flash statements.

In the Lewes side which briefly held the baton, in the 1990s, as the best team in Sussex he was not one of the star names.

Brothers Jeremy and Alastair Boyse grabbed the headlines while the young Hawes quietly got on with learning his trade.

Fast forward a decade and a bit and the record books suggest that home-grown Hawes was the finest talent to emerge from that Lewes side.

While the Boyes brothers were richly talented, it is Hawes who has gone on to win more than 200 international caps and is currently preparing for his third Olympic Games.

Hawes, from nearby Barcombe, was always destined to play for Lewes. Born into a hockey playing family, he was a regular at the club from his pushchair days and he picked up a stick as soon as he was old enough.

Now playing for Wimbledon, having also appeared for Surbiton and Amsterdam in Holland since leaving Lewes, he recalls fondly those early days with a club where he still has a lot of links.

While East Grinstead went through a lean period in their history, Lewes emerged as a force in the 1990s and finished runners-up in national division one in 2000, missing out on promotion to the premier division by a single point.

While the club went on a rapid decline in the years that followed, including losing their national league status after finishing bottom of the third division in 2005, Hawes knows the relevance his start at Lewes had on his career.

Now 31, he said: “Lewes was massively important for me. I was very lucky with the time I was at Lewes and hopefully I had a bit to do with their success as well.

“When I was young and just starting to play in the first team, they had just got into the National League. I was able to stay locally and play at a really good standard.

“Jeremy and AJ Boyse were there, who were international standard players. We had a great team and a great time and it really gave me the bug for hockey.

“I had always played up until then but that was the time I realised it was something I wanted to do at a top level and Lewes Hockey Club played a massive part in that.”

It was after leaving Lewes that Hawes' career went into overdrive.

The former Priory School, Lewes, pupil made his international debut in 2002, competed in the 2003 European Championships and went to his first Olympics in Athens in 2004.

The success story continued, taking part in the 2006 Commonwealth Games and then captaining Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when a team ranked ninth in the world finished fifth.

That was the start of a surge, initially with the England team and now Great Britain, which has raised hopes of first Olympic medal in 24 years.

Perhaps the highlight of Hawes' career was winning gold with England at the 2009 European Championship - although even that could be surpassed over the next month.

Hawes said: “It is a massive honour to be part of any Olympics but to be part of a home Olympics is something very few people get to do.

“There are athletes who have achieved so much in their careers but haven't been part of a home Olympics. It is a great opportunity and something I am very excited about.

“This is the best team I have ever played in, packed with experience. We are very strong but also we have players in the team who are world class.

“You don't get to fourth in the rankings for no reason, you have to be consistent over a number of years. We have started to prove that.

“We have the potential to win a gold medal at the Olympics, there is no doubt about that. Like any sport you have to prove that potential at the time when it matters.

“That is our biggest challenge now, fine-tuning things and being able to deliver when it matters.”

Hawes retains strong family links with Lewes Hockey Club and having the support of those close to him will be important to a player who will turn 32 during the Games.

It was not easy for his loved ones to support him in Athens or Beijing, which makes the London Games all the more exciting for the likeable Hawes.

He said: “One of the great advantages of playing at home is that people get a chance to come and see the games and feel part of it.

“It will be great to know I have family and friends there. That is why it is special to have the Olympics in London.”

FACTFILE:

• Age: 31.
• Club: Wimbledon.
• Position: Defender.
• England caps/goals: 125/25.
• GB caps/goals: 88/20.