The Irish Hockey Association revealed a number of positions that have been filled for the Irish Junior Age Group Squads, the U18’s Girls and Boys and U16’s Girls and Boys. The objectives of the Irish U16 and U18 programmes are dual fold; their primary aim is to develop junior athletes and equip them with the skills and attributes to play at senior level, whilst also performing as a team at the European tournament which will help instil belief and confidence in Irish teams.

While a number of new faces are welcomed into the Irish set up a number of positions have remained the same, namely the two U16 Head Coaches, Andy Smyth from Ulster and Una McCarthy from Leinster. Commenting on the appointments was the Director of High Performance, Dave Passmore, ‘We are confident with the progress and development we saw in our U16 athletes last year that the U16 management teams will deliver at the Europeans next year, both in individual player development and the performances of the teams who both finished in the top 4 last time around'

The position of Head Coach for the U18 Boys sees a new face in the shape of former Malaysian international and current Old Alex coach Arul Anthoni. Arul arrives with a wealth of experience both as a player and as a coach; he was assistant coach to the Malaysian men’s side for three years and assistant coach to the South African Men’s World Cup Team 2006. Commenting on his new position he stated, “I am delighted to be involve; there is plenty of growth and potential within Irish hockey at the moment.”

His counterpart on the Girls’ side is former Irish International Mary Logue who makes the step up from Assistant Coach to Head Coach, a challenge she is clearly looking forward to “I am very excited to be given the opportunity to lead Ireland’s preparation for the next U18 European Youth Nations Championships in the summer of 2022 and I look forward to working with our most talented young players over the next 2 years”

Commenting on the two new head Coaches, Dave Passmore was confident with the selection “Arul and Mary are fantastic appointments for us, particularly what they can bring to these athletes in terms of their own experience of playing on the world stage.  They have difficult boots to fill as both Stephen Watt and Mick Mckinnon have had unrivalled success during their tenures with the U18 teams.  We are hoping both will continue to play an important role in the further development of our emerging international players and we thank them for their contribution'

Two more new faces are also welcomed into the Irish set up at the U18 Girls Level, Leinster’s Guy Garrett as Assistant Coach and Connacht’s Richie Malone as Video Operator.

Full list of positions for Irish Junior Age Groups.

U18 Boys:
Head Coach: Arul Anthoni
Manager: Peter Jackson
Asst Coach: John Hobbs
GK Coach: Mark Evans
Video: Suzanne Evans

U18 Girls:
Head Coach: Mary Logue
Manager: TBC
Asst Coach: Guy Garrett
GK Coach: TBC
Video: Richie Malone

U16 Boys:
Head Coach: Andy Smyth
Manager: Peter Jackson, Fraser Mills
Asst Coach: Miles Warren
GK Coach: Paddy Grimes
Video:TBC

U16 Girls:
Head Coach: Una McCarthy
Manager: Siobhan Smyth
Asst Coach: Michelle Rainey
GK Coach: Sammy Downes
Video: Denise McCarthy

Source: Irish Hockey Association