Reid and Shopman named FIH Men’s and Women’s Coaches of the Year
Indian men’s and women’s hockey team coaches Graham Reid and Yanke Schopman were on Thursday named the FIH Coach of the Year in their respective categories. Reid has won the award for the second time in a row, while Indian coach Shored Marin won the FIH Coach of the Year award for the women’s team last season. Under the guidance of Australia’s Reid, India scaled new heights which included winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after a gap of 41 years.
India also won a silver medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, while Australia missed out on a podium spot in the previous leg. India played the first full season in the FIH Hockey Pro League in 2021–22 and secured a podium spot. The team finished third behind the Netherlands and Belgium. The Indian team managed to score 62 goals in this, which is the most goals scored by any team not only in this season but in the history of Pro League.
Reid, who took over the reins of the team in April 2019, was also the coach of the Indian men’s hockey team that won the inaugural FIH HockeyFives in Lausanne this year, with the team winning every match. He got 31.4 marks in online voting. They were followed by Netherlands coach Jeroen Delmy and Belgium coach Michael van den Heuvel who got 26.9 and 20.2 points respectively. In the online voting, experts voted 40 percent, teams 20 percent and fans and the media 20-20 percent.
Reid said in the release, “These awards reflect their performance, not the individual, but the way the team plays. I think I try to create that kind of atmosphere in the group. To get the award is great but I think the whole team has achieved this feat. He said, “The coaches of other teams are also world class, they have a different way of doing things and it is a great honor among them to win this award. ,
On the other hand, Schopman got 38.2 points, beating Netherlands coach Jamilon Mulders (28.2 points) and Australia coach Katrina Powell (19.5 points). The Indian women’s team performed brilliantly in the Tokyo Olympics, missing out on a bronze medal. Under Schopman’s guidance, the Indian team debuted in the 2021-22 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League and achieved impressive results including (in shootout) victories over Germany, Netherlands, Spain and champions Argentina, finishing third.
The Indian team finished on the podium for the first time in 16 years at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The team defeated New Zealand in a shootout in the bronze medal match. “It is wonderful to win this award against some of the best coaches in the world. The award came because of the results shown by the players on the field and I am happy that the team is making good progress.
