Ames attended
Cookstown High School between 2001 and 2009, where between 2007 and 2009 he captained the team that won the
All Ireland Schoolboys Hockey Championship and two successive Burney Cup/
McCullough Cup doubles. In the 2007–08 Burney Cup final Ames scored four goals in the 6–3 extra time win over the Royal and Prior School of
Raphoe. In the 2008–09 McCullough Cup final Ames scored twice when beating
Sullivan Upper School 3–0 in the final and in the 2008–09 Burney Cup final Ames opened the scoring as Cookstown High defeated Banbridge Academy 4–3 in the final. In 2008–09 Ames was a member of the
Cookstown team that played in the
Irish Senior Cup final, losing 6–0 to
Pembroke Wanderers. He was part of the
Ulster Elks at intervarsity level, helping them win the 2009 Mauritius Cup. Between 2008 and 2012, Ames made 64 senior international appearances for Ireland. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the
2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II. He also represented Ireland at the
2009 Men's Hockey World Cup Qualifiers, the
2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship and at a
2012 Men's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier. In April 2012 Ames made his last appearance for Ireland in a 2–1 away win against
Germany. Ames and
Ian Sloan both scored for Ireland. In January 2013 Ames and Sloan announced that they were switching allegiances from Ireland to
England/
Great Britain in order to represent the British team at the Olympic Games. In 2015–16 Ames was voted Player's Player of the Year in the Men's English Hockey League. Ames left Beeston for
Holcombe, where he played from 2016 to 2019. He made his official debut for Great Britain on 14 May 2015, in a 1–1 draw against
Argentina. He subsequently represented Great Britain at the
2016 Summer Olympics, The team went out in the quarter-finals after losing a penalty shootout to
India. Ames also represented
England at the
2015 and
2017 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championships, and the
2018 Men's Hockey World Cup. In April 2021 he signed a 1-year contract at
Dutch Hoofdklasse club
Oranje-Rood for the 2021–22 season. He won a silver medal with England at the
2023 Men's EuroHockey Championship in Mönchengladbach. After another season with Holcombe, Ames joined
Old Georgians and helped them finish runner-up to Surbiton during the
2024–25 Men's England Hockey League season. Ames announced his retirement from international hockey in February 2025. == International record ==