Graham Moodie appointed Scotland U21 Men Head Coach

Scottish Hockey is pleased to announce that Graham
Moodie has been appointed Scotland U21 Men’s Head
Coach.

The thirty-one year old Great Britain Olympian and Scotland
international takes over the vacant position following Derek’s
Forsyth’s elevation to the senior men’s head coach position earlier
this year.

Commenting on his appointment, Moodie said:

“I’m delighted to have been offered and accepted the Scotland
U21 men’s head coach position. I’m passionate, I want Scotland to
succeed, and believe I can make a difference. I’ve learnt a lot
from top coaches during ten years playing for Scotland and Great
Britain, whilst my experience of coaching Edinburgh University in
National League Division 1 for the last three seasons will also be
valuable.”

“As a player I have twelve years’ experience of international
hockey, including an Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games, so I
know what it takes to compete at the highest level. I have also
played in two U21 European ‘A’ Division competitions and was part
of the last squad to play in a Junior World Cup for Scotland.”

Callum McLeod, Performance Manager, said:

“Graham is an excellent role model for the players and he will
demand their full commitment and hard work in preparations for the
European competition later this year. He will be involved in the
forthcoming training camps for the U21s and will take over
full-time from 1st May 2012.”

The appointment of Moodie coincides with an important
international season for Scotland U21s. The Scots will compete in
the top division of the EuroHockey Junior Nations Championship,
which is being staged in the Dutch city of Den Bosch this summer.
They will face a tough examination from European heavyweights
Belgium, Spain and Germany in Pool B but a good performance at the
competition could see the side qualify for the FIH Junior World Cup
next year.

“My immediate targets are to stay in the top division of
European competition and qualify for the Junior World Cup. 
Longer term, I want to establish the team within the top 6 in
Europe and develop quality players capable of performing at the
highest level for the senior men’s squad. This will not be easy but
I will do all I can to achieve this”, said Moodie.

“I know some of the U21 players who’ve also played for the
senior team, whilst I’ve also seen some in the National League. To
be honest I’m not really interested in reputations; if sport tells
us anything it’s that current performance is not always an accurate
indicator of future success and I’m looking for players who are
determined to improve, have the right attitude and want to achieve
for Scotland.”

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