NSW Pride has today announced that Brent Livermore and Scott Barker will lead the mens and womens teams respectively for the 2026 One Active Hockey One season that begins in October.

Livermore, a former Kookaburras Captain, returns to the role as Head Coach this season having previously coached the Pride as the inaugural coach from 2019 through to 2023 where the team captured two titles (2019, 2022) and finished second in 2023.

“I am delighted to be returning to the NSW Pride as Head Coach and I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity by Hockey New South Wales,” said Livermore. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience coaching the Pride in the past and I am really looking forward to working with the talented players we have in New South Wales throughout this Hockey One Season.

Barker, the current Director of Hockey at Sydney University Sport and Fitness, returns to the Pride womens program for his fourth consecutive season and will be looking to capture his first title as Head Coach, with the team finishing third in the past two seasons (2024 and 2025).

“I am excited to be returning to the role as Head Coach of the Prides womens team and having the opportunity to continue to build and develop this group of talented female hockey players,” said Barker.

“We have come so close in the past few years, and I am really confident that we will develop a really great squad filled with a mixture of experience and youth to be up there again challenging for the title in 2026”.

Hockey New South Wales Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Campbell said the experience and credentials of Livermore and Barker made them the right choices for the roles in 2026.

“Brent’s experience as a player and coach speaks for itself, which combined with his strategic vision for this squad and campaign made him the best person to lead our mens squad,” said Campbell.

“Scott has led our womens program admirably over the past three seasons and has overseen the development and improvement of the squad as a whole that has been unlucky not to have finished higher in each of the three seasons that Scott has been the Head Coach”.

“Hockey One is the pinnacle event for hockey players in our country and I am really confident that both Brent and Scott will ensure our teams are up there challenging for the title in 2026, as well as ensuring that our athletes are continuing to develop their skills and knowledge individually as they progress on their hockey journey,” added Campbell.

The 2026 One Active Hockey One League will feature a series of major innovations designed to elevate the competition, expand its footprint, including the introduction of an eighth Club, the Melbourne Cobras.

The NSW Pride will begin their season in Adelaide against the Fire on October 31, with the first home game of the season the following weekend against the Canberra Chill on November 7.

For further details or the complete season draw including early access to tickets, please click here.