Australia:
Hockey Australia has today announced that Australian national women’s hockey Head Coach, Katrina Powell, will extend her tenure in the role. The contract extension means Katrina will guide the Hockeyroos to the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The decision, endorsed by Hockey Australia’s Board, was considered in-line with Hockey Australia’s High-Performance Strategy, Coaching Framework and ‘What it Takes to Win’ model, as part of Sport Australia’s High Performance 2032+ ‘Win Well’ Strategy.
Hockey Australia’s President, Ross Sudano said extending Katrina’s role as Head Coach would ensure ongoing leadership stability for the Hockeyroos’ and continue the positive culture that has developed strongly since Katrina first took the reins in March 2021.
“As part of the “win” component of Sport Australia’s ‘Win Well’ Strategy, under Katrina’s direction, the Hockeyroos have moved up the FIH International Women’s team rankings to fifth place behind the Dutch, Argentina, Belgium and Germany. Katrina knows what elements require focus for the team to achieve success, which is crucial going into the next Olympic cycle,” Ross said.
“Under the “well” component, Katrina has been a key driver in ensuring all recommendations from Hockey Australia’s review into the culture and leadership of the National Women’s High-Performance Program have been implemented. She has done a good job with the athletes to build a very positive team culture, where values of leadership, integrity and excellence are paramount.
“Katrina’s experience with the team, together with the team culture scores from the raw data of the Paris Olympic Games, is what ultimately led to the Board’s endorsement. She came on board as Hockeyroos’ Head Coach in a difficult period, where Covid-19, lack of funding and a decentralised program heavily impacted training, performance and international competition.
“Fortunately, we have moved into a position now where, thanks to ongoing support from the WA Government, we are about to embark on the construction of $135 million High-Performance Centre of Excellence in Perth, which will provide resources for athletes that will assist their performance both on and off the field.
“With more funding going forward, we’ll have the environmental and physical resources required to support a high-performing team. We can also provide the Hockeyroos’ Head Coach with full-time assistant coaching, something Katrina hasn’t had across the last few years. It’s this level of support that is required to ensure the athletes have the adequate preparation needed to perform on the world stage.”
For Katrina, she is focused on the key areas that she knows will be critical on the road to the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s important to continue to look at the data so we know what areas we need to focus on. We have access to this now, as well as greater access to more support and resources so it’s important to use this to ensure further growth and success,” Katrina said.
“The Hockeyroos are a brilliant group of talented, supportive and driven athletes. I am very proud and excited to be leading them through to the 2028 Olympics in LA. The team has come a long way since 2021 and I’m really proud of their ongoing commitment and development.”
Katrina’s stint as Head Coach commenced with a Trans-Tasman Series win against their New Zealand counterparts, a feat she helped the team secure again the following year in 2022. Katrina then went on to help the team take home Bronze at the 2022 FIH Women’s World Cup and the Silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
In 2023, Katrina led the team to win a three-Test Series against India on Aussie soil amidst an impressive 2023-2024 Women’s FIH Pro League campaign, which saw the Hockeyroos finish third behind the Netherlands and Argentina.
Having previously represented the Hockeyroos herself, Katrina is a dual-Olympic Gold medallist representing Australia at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games in a career that spanned 252 games and included 141 goals.
