New Scotland pathway coaches announced

Scottish Hockey has announced Mike Irving as the new Scotland Aspiring Boys head coach, and Shenarda Dedic the new Scotland Emerging Girls head coach.

The highly experienced coaches have taken their first sessions as both programmes are set for a busy year in 2025.

Shenarda Dedic said, “Joining Scottish Hockey was an opportunity I just could not pass up. I have followed closely the recent work that has gone into developing their athlete pathway, and the impact the Brave Academy is having on the development of Scottish Hockey’s future senior internationals was a real draw for me as a coach.

“I am extremely excited to see where the Emerging Girls can go this cycle especially after seeing them last weekend at our selection camp. There is some real potential I’m ready to unlock alongside the excellent coaching team we have in place for the Emerging Girls programme.”

Mike Irving said, “I’m really looking forward to being a part of Scottish Hockey and heading up the Aspiring Boys programme for the coming two years. Having had our first sessions last weekend, it’s clear the playing group have a lot of potential, which I cannot wait to work with in preparation for the European’s in July next year. This is a very exciting time to be involved with Scottish Hockey and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Performance Pathway Lead Kelly Fillingham stated, “After a thorough recruitment process, I’m thrilled to welcome Shen and Mike to the team. They bring extensive experience and expertise that align perfectly with our pathway ambitions. I’ve been impressed with the enthusiasm and attention to detail they’ve demonstrated early on, and I look forward to supporting them and our programmes as we progress through the next cycle. This journey culminates in a European A Division in France for the Aspiring Boys and an eight nations tournament in the Netherlands for the Emerging Girls.”

Kelly also highlighted the exciting developments in recruitment, noting, “We’ve appointed two new national head coaches; promoted three BRAVE Academy coaches to national assistant roles; brought on three new national assistants from outside Scotland; and added two coaches from Scottish schools and clubs to the BRAVE Academy.

“A diverse and dynamic coaching team is critical to nurturing our talented Scottish athletes and advancing our mission to build a world-class pathway through the BRAVE programme into our national programmes. These recent appointments mark another significant step toward achieving our goals.”

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top