Pels admits tricky task to replace Shaw
Hockey Ireland chief executive Jerome Pels admits they face an onerous task in their efforts to retain world-class coaching talent.
Pels travels with high-performance director Adam Grainger to Bisham Abbey this weekend to talk to players as they commence the hunt to find a successor to women’s coach Graham Shaw.
Shaw — who guided Ireland to World Cup silver — handed in his resignation this week to take up the same role with sixth-ranked New Zealand.
He became the second Irish head coach to depart in the past year after former men’s chief Craig Fulton left six months before December’s World Cup.
The Irish women face a big 2019 starting with June’s Hockey Series Finals. The European Championships come two months later before the final Olympic qualifiers in October or November. Hockey Ireland’s task is made more difficult by that the fact that top European club coaches are tied while international programmes are in full flow.
But Pels says last summer’s experience with Fulton means the governing body will take their time to get things right, and has faith that Shaw’s assistants Arlene Boyles, Gareth Grundie and Colin Stewart will manage in the interim.
“We are not panicking and you do have to get it right with some level of flexibility,” Pels told the .
There might be a suitable person who might not be available straight away so we may need to do something temporary. With the Hockey Series finals, the Europeans and the knockout Olympic qualifiers — it will always be tricky to slot someone in somewhere along the way but we have confidence in our current coaching team.
Pels insisted money was not a factor in the last two departures. He explained: “It is a chance to coach a team at another level, a different type of programme and higher in the rankings. We have transformed ourselves from top 16 to the top 10 or eight but we are still not at the top yet.”
Work is starting this week on an international grade pitch at UCD while a training centre at Abbotstown is also planned but whether either will be ready for June’s Hockey Series finals remains unclear.
Despite such issues Pels believes the role as women’s coach is an attractive one: “We’re silver medal winners. No doubt this will be of interest for someone talented to take things on.”
The Irish team will play Great Britain twice in two uncapped matches this weekend.
On the club front, Cork Harlequins host Railway Union in a pivotal battle for a top-four spot in the women’s EYH. Quins were superb last Sunday in beating their Belfast equivalent with Rebecca Barry scoring twice. Railway, meanwhile, are one of the league’s form teams following a shaky start to the campaign.
In EYHL2, UCC require a victory in Galway at Greenfields to keep their semi-final hopes alive while Catholic Institute are already through.
In the men’s EYHL, Cork C of I’s walking wounded face many familiar faces when Pembroke come to Garryduff. They missed the services of John Jermyn, Alex Burns, Alex Deane and Jonny Bruton last Sunday but hope for an improved fitness report this weekend. Pembroke arrive with Cork men Greg Chambers, Stephen Sweetnam, Richard Sweetnam, Richard Lynch, Patrick Shanahan, Scott Sullivan and Stuart Miller in their ranks.
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