BLACK STICKS ICON APPOINTED AS WOMEN’S HEAD COACH

Hockey New Zealand (HNZ) is proud to announce that Phil Burrows has been appointed as the Vantage Black Sticks women head coach.

A well-known figure within New Zealand’s hockey landscape after an international playing career spanning 16 years which included 343 international caps and 151 goals scored (both New Zealand records).

For the past six years he has been involved with Hockey Victoria as their high performance athlete and coach manager where he also coached Hockey Club Melbourne in the women’s Hockey One league, leading them to a minor premiership this year. Burrows also has experience coaching in Europe and New Zealand.

However, Burrows is excited about the opportunity to return home and said, “being able to come back to New Zealand and lead the national programme is an incredible privilege and I’m looking forward to getting started.

“The team has shown massive potential this year and I’m looking forward to working alongside some great people to continue developing this young squad as we play over 20 international tests in the first half of 2023 culminating in an opportunity to qualify for Paris 2024”

In what will be Burrows’ first test series at the helm, HNZ is pleased to announce that a two-match women’s series against Spain will take place in Tauranga from 28-29 January, ahead of the teams’ return to the FIH Pro-League in Wellington from 18-26 February.

High Performance Director Darren Smith says it’s great to be able to provide Burrows with an early opportunity to take the helm.

“Spain are one of the top sides in the world and will provide a good challenge for Phil and our women ahead of a busy, competitive international season,” he said.

“We know that he will hit the ground running and brings in a wealth of experience and knowledge from his time in Australia – our entire national programme and pathway will be better off with him in this role.”