Following a worldwide search, Great Britain and England Hockey have announced the appointment of Dr Ed Barney PhD as Performance Director.
Dr Barney’s track record of maximising performance, talent identification and strategic thinking made him the outstanding candidate for the role. With international experience in hockey, cricket and sailing, he brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to this pivotal role.
Dr Barney said “I am delighted to be appointed as Performance Director and am very much looking forward to building on the good work that has already taken place over a number of years.
“Our sport is in an amazing place after the women’s team’s success in Rio, and we are now presented with a great opportunity.
“We now need to be clinical in converting recent success into long term, systemic and consistent medal winning performance. I will be striving over the coming cycles to achieve this and I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting started.”
With the EuroHockey Championship next year and the Hockey World Cups in 2018, this appointment comes with great opportunities ahead for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Considered to be one of the up and coming stars in his field, Dr Barney is currently Head of Talent Development at Great Britain Hockey and has played a key role in the evolution of the nation’s hockey talent pathway.
He was a world class sailing athlete before moving into coaching, and working as an RYA national sailing coach. He then joined the England and Wales Cricket Board to become their Talent Identification Scientist before moving to Hockey as Head of Talent Development in 2013.
After achieving a First Class Honours degree from Exeter University he went on to complete an MSc in Sport Science at Loughborough University, prior to achieving an innovative and cutting-edge PHD in Talent Identification and Development.
Sally Munday, CEO of England Hockey, said “Ed’s track record speaks for itself, he was the outstanding candidate and the unanimous choice of the selection panel.
“We interviewed an exceptionally strong field and Ed shone throughout the process against candidates from across hockey, as well as other Olympic disciplines and global professional sports.
“We have seen first hand the great impact he has made in our performance department, and the quality of his leadership to the talent programme across Great Britain.
“With his previous experience in international cricket and sailing he will also add a different perspective in leading our Performance Department and I am confident his experience, coupled with his drive and focus, will enable us to achieve our ambition of being consistently ranked in the top three sides in the world for both women and men.”
