FIH Champions Trophy is coming….

The Champions Trophy has a dual role in the eyes of many coaches. First and foremost it offers a route to Olympic qualification, but secondly, it is also an opportunity to test new players at the top level of competitive hockey. This is particularly true of this year’s event.
 
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Following the 2014 World Cup and with just under two years to the 2016 Olympics, now is the time many coaches will be making changes to their squad with an eye to the next few years. We hear from three teams that will have high hopes for success in both the women’s Champions Trophy and Rio 2016.Sjoerd Marijne is the new coach of the Netherlands women’s team, and considering the success of the Dutch team in both the last two Olympic Games and the 2014 World Cup, making any changes to a successful squad will be a challenge.”It is difficult coming into a winning team, but I will not be changing things much,” says former U21 coach Marijne, “My style is similar to that of Max (Caldas) – the previous coach of the team – because we have both been educated by the KNHB.”Certainly the Dutch coach will not be letting his team become complacent. “I will be asking more from the girls than they are used to. The bar has to go higher and we must keep pushing it up and up.” Marijne says that he will be continuing to seek out areas of improvement that will give his team the edge.
 
The team going to the Champions Trophy In Argentina remains largely unchanged from the all conquering World Cup squad, but three faces missing from Mendoza will be the influential Kim Lammers, who has retired; injury-hit Jacky Schoenaker; and Kelly Jonker, who didn’t make the squad. Three new additions to the squad are the promising midfielder Laura Nunnink, Michelle van der Pols, who was part of the winning 2007 Champions Trophy squad and Valerie Magis – who has overcome the effects of severe diabetes to take her place in the national squad.World number two team, the Hockeyroos, will be fielding three new players in Argentina. Kathryn Slattery, Audrey Smith and Amelia Spence have all been handed caps by coach Adam Commens, while Teneal Attard will be making a return after a long lay-off through injury. The 189-times capped midfielder will bring a wealth of experience to the squad as they seek to end Dutch domination of the women’s game.
 
Adam Commens said: “It is important that we include new talent. We need to expand the pool of talent available as we look ahead to the Rio Games in 2016…but it is important that we are competitive at the Champions Trophy, hence the inclusion of the majority of our World Cup and Commonwealth Games squad.
 
“The 2006 Champions Trophy winners Germany will be looking to make amends for an under-par performance at the World Cup. The team slipped to sixth in the world rankings after finishing eighth in The Hague. Coach Jamilon Mulders knows that his squad is very much in the rebuilding stage, but a new funding stream from the national hockey association has enabled him to introduce new ideas, including a new, centralised strength and conditioning programme and a sports psychologist. The aim, says Mulders is a top five finish in Mendoza.
Following the 2014 World Cup and with just under two years to the 2016 Olympics, now is the time many coaches will be making changes to their squad with an eye to the next few years. We hear from three teams that will have high hopes for success in both the women’s Champions Trophy and Rio 2016.
Sjoerd Marijne is the new coach of the Netherlands women’s team, and considering the success of the Dutch team in both the last two Olympic Games and the 2014 World Cup, making any changes to a successful squad will be a challenge.
“It is difficult coming into a winning team, but I will not be changing things much,” says former U21 coach Marijne, “My style is similar to that of Max (Caldas) – the previous coach of the team – because we have both been educated by the KNHB.”
Certainly the Dutch coach will not be letting his team become complacent. “I will be asking more from the girls than they are used to. The bar has to go higher and we must keep pushing it up and up.” Marijne says that he will be continuing to seek out areas of improvement that will give his team the edge.
The team going to the Champions Trophy In Argentina remains largely unchanged from the all conquering World Cup squad, but three faces missing from Mendoza will be the influential Kim Lammers, who has retired; injury-hit Jacky Schoenaker; and Kelly Jonker, who didn’t make the squad. Three new additions to the squad are the promising midfielder Laura Nunnink, Michelle van der Pols, who was part of the winning 2007 Champions Trophy squad and Valerie Magis – who has overcome the effects of severe diabetes to take her place in the national squad.
World number two team, the Hockeyroos, will be fielding three new players in Argentina. Kathryn Slattery, Audrey Smith and Amelia Spence have all been handed caps by coach Adam Commens, while Teneal Attard will be making a return after a long lay-off through injury. The 189-times capped midfielder will bring a wealth of experience to the squad as they seek to end Dutch domination of the women’s game.
Adam Commens said: “It is important that we include new talent. We need to expand the pool of talent available as we look ahead to the Rio Games in 2016…but it is important that we are competitive at the Champions Trophy, hence the inclusion of the majority of our World Cup and Commonwealth Games squad.”
The 2006 Champions Trophy winners Germany will be looking to make amends for an under-par performance at the World Cup. The team slipped to sixth in the world rankings after finishing eighth in The Hague.
Coach Jamilon Mulders knows that his squad is very much in the rebuilding stage, but a new funding stream from the national hockey association has enabled him to introduce new ideas, including a new, centralised strength and conditioning programme and a sports psychologist. The aim, says Mulders is a top five finish in Mendoza.
Source and photograph: FIH.CH