National development for six NSWIS hockey players

Six athletes from the NSW Institute of Sport will join the Australia’s Men’s Hockey National Development Squad for the next 12 months.

The Men’s National Development Squad comprises athletes on the verge of breaking into the national senior program, with an eye to being selected for the Kookaburras at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2023 World Cup in India and Paris Olympics in 2024.

Hayden Dillon, Jack Hayes, Dylan Martin, Ryan Proctor, Nathaneal Stewart and Ash Thomas all played for the NSW Pride in the recent inaugural Sultana Bran Hockey One League. The NSWIS athletes join the 19-strong squad.

Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch said the athletes’ performances in the new reinvigorated domestic competition played a significant role in their selections, and he has been impressed with the level of the players who are knocking on the door.

“There is really good depth in Australian men’s hockey at the moment and the athletes that have been selected have proven they have the quality to be in the mix for the Kookaburras,” said Batch.

“The coaching staff and High Performance department see this group of athletes as integral in driving the Kookaburras to ongoing improvement and success, and being selected in this squad clearly sends the message that they are very much in contention.

“Nathan (Ephraums) and Kurt (Lovett) were both part of the National Development Squad this year and forced their way into the senior Kookaburras squad, so I look forward to monitoring the development of all the players on our radar.”

As part of the National Development Squad, athletes will continue to train in their home daily training environment with their National Training Centre (NTC) programs, under the guidance of the national program coaches.

The National Development Squad features six players from the Sultana Bran Hockey One League’s undefeated NSW Pride team, including capped Kookaburra Jack Hayes.

Throughout the year these athletes may be invited to train with the senior Kookaburras squad in Perth as part of a Visitor Athlete Agreement and be involved in training and match environments that are above their current level of competition.

2020 Men’s National Development Squad