NEWS

Adelaide Fire announce Head Coaches for Season 3 of the Hockey One League

The Adelaide Fire are pleased to announce the appointment of two internationally accredited coaches, to lead our teams in Season 3 of the Hockey One League.

ROEL VAN MAASTRIGT will take leadership of the Adelaide Fire Men in 2023 as their new Head Coach.

Roel was the Assistant Coach of the Adelaide Fire Men’s team in Season 2. He brings a wealth of global experience to the team. Roel previously held roles as the Director of High Performance / Technical Director of Field Hockey Alberta, Assistant Coach / Interim Head Coach Field Hockey Canada Women’s National Team, Coach of the Next Gen Field Hockey Canada Men’s & Women’s programs, and Head Coach University of Calgary Field Hockey Program. An exceptional portfolio of international coaching experience and leadership coming into the Adelaide Fire team.

Since arriving in Adelaide, Roel has coached the SA Under 21 Men’s team at the National Championships in both 2022 and 2023. Under Roel’s guidance, the team saw considerable improvement and achieved results at the 2023 Championships that had not been achieved for some years. Roel will also coach the SA Under 18 Women’s Team at the upcoming National Championships in Hobart this July.

Roel currently oversees the SA Pathways and High Performance programs for Hockey SA. He has implemented new strategies to help SA talent evolve and bring greater success to State Teams in the future. His passion for developing talent and strong determination for achieving results is already prevalent amongst the SA State teams, and will no doubt be witnessed this season with the Adelaide Fire.

Roel has been working behind the scenes to set the stage for a big season from the Adelaide Fire Men. He built a strong relationship and rapport with the Adelaide Fire playing group in Season 2, making him the strong leader to take full control of the Adelaide Fire Men’s team in 2023.

HUGH PURVIS will shift alignment in the coaching reigns and take the lead coaching role for the Women’s team in Season 3.

As Assistant Coach with the Hockeyroos, Hugh worked closely with Katrina Powell and the team at the 2022 World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands. His role continued this year again as Assistant Coach to the Hockeyroos in the recent Test Series against India, here in Adelaide. Hugh now takes the reigns as the Head Coach for Australia A in their two matches in Adelaide against India, in leading the Australian players vying for future Hockeyroos selection.

In addition to assisting the Hockeyroos, Hugh also brings considerable international experience and knowledge to the coaching team through his time with the Canadian Men’s Program and the AHL Women’s Team.

Amongst his international commitments, Hugh continues to be the Hockey Head Coach for the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), working closely with the key SA hockey talent. Hugh also coached the SA Under 21 Women’s team at the National Championships this year, seeing great improvement from the SA team.

The extent of Hugh working closely with the female high performance and state teams over the past 12 months, sees him as the perfect candidate to take the reins of the Adelaide Fire Women’s team in Season 3.

Roel, Hugh and the High Performance team have been working tirelessly in preparation for the 2023 Hockey One season. We look forward to announcing further coaching support staff and key player signings in the coming weeks.

ROEL VAN MAASTRIGT
Adelaide Fire Men’s Assistant Coach (2022)
Hockey SA Pathways Coordinator (2022 – Current)
SA State Teams –
* U21 Men’s Head Coach (2022, 2023)
* U18 Women’s Head Coach (2023)
Director of High Performance / Technical Director of Field Hockey Alberta (2018 – 2022)
Assistant Coach / Interim Head Coach Field Hockey Canada Women’s National Team (2021)
Coach of the Next Gen Field Hockey Canada Men’s & Women’s National Teams (2018 – 2021)
Head Coach University of Calgary Field Hockey Program (2018 – 2021)
Youth Academy Coach, Hockey Club Den Bosch (2009 – 2018)
Usport Field Hockey Canada Coach of the Year (2019)
Canada West Field Hockey Coach of the Year (2019)
Canada West Field Hockey Varsity Coach of the Year (2019)

HUGH PURVIS
Adelaide Fire Men’s Head Coach (2022)
SASI Head Coach (2021 – Current)
Hockeyroos Assistant Coach (2022 World Cup Campaign, 2023 Australia v India Test Series)
Australia A Head Coach (2023 Australia v India Series)
Canadian Men’s National Program (2018-2020) –
* Men’s Senior Development Squad Head Coach
* Men’s National Team Domestic Trainer
* Men’s National Team Video Analyst
* Interim Head Coach (2020)
SA State Teams –
* AHL Women’s Assistant Coach (2017)
* U21 Men’s Head Coach (2017-2018)
* U21 Men’s Assistant Coach (2015-2016)
* U18W Head Coach (2015)
Hockey SA High Performance Manager (2014-2018)