Ireland hunt new coach as Kuper resigns

RIET KUPER yesterday tendered her resignation as coach to the Irish senior women’s hockey team in a move which could ultimately see several changes in the sport’s international coaching system.

The Irish Hockey Association (IHA) and Kuper announced her resignation jointly yesterday, in a move not entirely unexpected, and which comes after the Irish team recently missed out on qualification for the World Cup in Madrid in September, despite several strong performances against higher-ranked opposition.

Kuper had been national coach of the team for eight years, from 1998 to 2006, and it is understood she had considered stepping down after the European Championships in Dublin last year but stayed on to see the team through the World Cup-qualifying campaign.