Graham Moodie to leave Scottish Hockey after 10 years

Scotland men’s U21 head coach and assistant coach of Scotland men, Graham Moodie, is leaving Scottish Hockey after over 10 years with the organisation. Graham, who is a former Scotland captain, had a fantastic playing career amassing 148 international caps; 56 GB caps; competed at two Commonwealth games; and played at the 2004 Olympic games.

Graham is moving on to a fantastic school performance hockey programme at Culford and to further develop the Complete Hockey Coaching brand, in which he is a company partner. He will also continue to assist on the GB Elite Development Programme.

During his time as our U21 men’s coach Graham has worked hard to connect the player pathway, and we have really seen the benefit of this with the success of the U18 and U21 teams and the number of players that have transitioned to the senior programme. A particular highlight for Graham was overseeing the U21 men’s promotion into the European top division in 2019. Graham has continuously delivered fantastic results throughout and more notably against teams often better resourced.

As assistant coach of Scotland senior men, Scotland have moved up to their highest ever world ranking. Graham has looked after the defence for the senior men since 2015. During this time, the senior men have qualified for World League 3 and gained promotion to the European A Division, as well as a highest ever finish in a Commonwealth Games (6th) at Gold Coast 2018.

Graham has also played a key role in preparing our players to succeed at British level can take delight in the fact that we now have more Scotland junior male players in GB programmes than ever before. Graham received recognition from GB hockey by working with them to support the GB Senior Olympic team on their January 2022 tour to Spain.

On leaving the organisation Graham said; “I feel honoured and proud to have coached on the U21 & senior men’s programmes. I’ve been lucky to work with fantastic groups of players willing to give their all for Scotland and I’ve loved coaching them. I’m extremely grateful to Derek Forsyth, our senior men’s head coach for the trust he’s put in me, it’s been great to learn from him and be part of such a successful period for the senior men’s programme.

“I would also like to thank my dedicated and loyal support team with the U21 programme, I’m hoping we can finish on a high this summer in Belgium and I’m extremely motivated to do so. Lastly, I wish all the staff at Scottish Hockey well in this exciting new time for the organisation.”

On Graham’s departure senior men’s head coach Derek Forsyth said; “It has been a pleasure working alongside Graham over the last number of years within Scottish Hockey. He has made a significant impact with the senior men during that time which has no doubt contributed to the success of the squad in recent years. I wish him every success in his new role at Culford School. Hopefully, we will see Graham back with Scottish Hockey sometime in the future.”

Assistant Head of Culford School welcomed the appointment and said; “We are extremely excited to welcome Graham and his family to the coaching team at Culford School. With his wealth of experience and track record we are sure that Culford hockey will be in the best hands possible and we are looking forwards to expanding the development possibilities for our pupils and those in the surrounding area with the Complete Hockey camps.”

The recruitment process for a new men’s U21 coach will commence in the next few weeks.

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