Scots hockey aims for quality ‘step change’

SCOTTISH Hockey is looking forward to increasing the number of full-time coaches in the country thanks to a valuable sponsorship agreement with Aberdeen Asset Management.

The three-year deal announced yesterday is for an undisclosed sum, but it is big enough to enable a significant expansion in the governing body’s coaching network – and that in turn should help increase the quality of domestic competition.

Aberdeen, which have existing sponsorship programmes with London Scottish and Edinburgh Rugby, have a particular commitment to increasing the number of women in sport. Some of the funds from this new sponsorship will be used to help promote Scottish Hockey’s Women In Coaching programme, which aims to increase the number of female coaches in the country.

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Up to six new full-time posts will be created by the end of the current deal, and every club in the country will be able to submit an application to work with a coach. To make the funding go further, clubs will be asked to help contribute to the coach’s salary.

“It’s an absolutely fantastic opportunity for Scottish Hockey,” Graham Moodie, captain of the Scotland men’s team and a member of the Great Britain squad at the 2004 Olympics, said yesterday. “Aberdeen Asset Management have put a substantial amount of money in for three years, which is going to have a real impact in a number of ways.

“Firstly, the fact the money is going to be invested in coaching is going to help professionalise coaching more: by giving our coaches the chance to aspire to become full-time professionals, I think it will increase the quality. And it’s going to increase the quantity of professional coaches in Scotland, which I think will have a huge impact on our athletes.

“At the moment we are relying mainly on volunteers – even our national coaches at under-16 and under-18 level are volunteers. They have skills and expertise, but they can only give so much of their time. Having professional coaches will make a real, real difference for us.”

Moodie was speaking at Edinburgh Napier University’s Sighthill campus, where he is playing for Inverleith in this weekend’s European Indoor Club Champions Trophy. Now 31, he also plays for and coaches Edinburgh University, besides having a full-time job with Sport Scotland. He believes that people in similar situations, who love hockey but have to earn a living elsewhere, could be attracted to work in coaching full-time thanks to the new sponsorship agreement. I might want to potentially get a job as a full-time coach, but there aren’t many out there. There’s only one national team coach and one under-21 coach who are full-time, so where are there opportunities for other coaches to go?

“So this is going to have a real impact. I’m really hoping there will be current international players, and current coaches as well, who see this as a real opportunity. The new coaching scheme will enable the professionalisation of coaches, which is something that is needed in order for the sport to progress in this country, and it will really help to develop our talent base from youth level upwards.”

Lee Cousins, president of Scottish Hockey, was just as delighted by the investment in the organisation. “We have been seeking a long-term sponsor with whom we can share joint objectives in the growth and development of the sport in Scotland,” he said. “As a result of this investment in talent development from the grassroots, we hope to see future progress for Scottish club performances in elite international competitions, including the European Hockey League.”

Scottish Hockey chief executive Robert Heatly echoed those sentiments, saying that the Aberdeen sponsorship could play a vital role in the sustained growth of the sport. “If we can increase the standard of National League and Cup competition in Scotland, then we will have the foundations in place to market and promote hockey to new and existing audiences,” Heatly said.

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“Ideally, we want to stage events that regularly attract the interest of spectators and increase attendances, whilst generating greater media interest to escalate publicity and awareness of the sport.

“With the London Olympics almost upon us and the Commonwealth Games set for Glasgow in 2014, now is the ideal time for Scottish Hockey to use these major sporting events, of which hockey is an integral part, as a catalyst for a real step change in its development.”

Besides their involvement with rugby, Aberdeen have also worked in golf, sponsoring Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie, and rowing. They have consistently supported greater involvement for women in business management, and their chief executive Martin Gilbert made particular mention of the governing body’s Women In Sport initiative.

“We are proud to announce our long-term support for Scottish Hockey and are looking forward to the positive impact that Aberdeen’s involvement will have on the sport,” he said. “Hockey is a fantastic team sport and we are particularly keen to expand the Women In Coaching scheme, in order to encourage more women to get involved and stay involved with the sport.”