WA Country Coaching Appointments revealed

The coaches set to lead WA's Country teams in the upcoming Hockey Australia Country Championships being held in Goulburn, NSW in August have been revealed.

As country athletes hoping to be considered to don the black and gold submit nominations and gear up for the 2024 CBH Group Country Championships, Hockey WA are pleased to announce Lawrie Tylor and Tammy Cowan as our WA Country coaches.

A year after a successful national championship campaign, Tylor has been given another opportunity to lead the WA Country Men’s team to glory.

This year, the WA Country Men’s team will be going for back-to-back gold medals after winning the 2023 National Championship in Shepparton, Victoria, defeating the host state 1-0 in the Grand Final.

Tylor said he was excited to get back into the role for a third year in a row and continuing to help elevate hockey in country WA.

“It’s pretty exciting and rewarding, particularly after the past couple of years so I’m keen to get into it,” he said.

“We slipped under the radar a little bit last year but came from fourth to win [the National Championships], so I think we’ll be on the radar for the other states this year.

“It’s exciting to be at the top of the tree so bring it on.”

Tylor said he will be looking for quality hockey players both on and off the field to represent country WA.

“Players that can fit into the team environment and are committed to the cause is always a bonus,” he said.

“Ultimately, we’re on the lookout for quality hockey players that have a good understanding of the game.

“Once you combine all those things, it generally turns out a pretty successful team.”

Tylor will be joined by Dean Lomax, who takes on the role of Assistant Coach, while Andrew Hoare will be the Team Manager.

A fresh approach has been taken for the WA Country Women’s program, with Tammy Cowan the newly appointed Head Coach.

Prior to this appointment, Cowan has been involved in Junior State team and Australian Masters coaching for many years.

Cowan also takes on the WA Country Women’s Head Coach role off the back of achieving FIH Level 2 Coaching Accreditation.

Cowan said she felt honoured to be taking on the role and is excited to take on the challenge.

“I think it's an honour to represent any side wearing the black and gold,” she said.

“Hopefully we’ll be having a mixture of expertise and skill level of experienced hockey players with the new, up-and-coming developmental players.

“We’ll be focussed on having that mix of skills where you’ve got speed, fitness level, hockey fundamentals as well as having that hockey knowledge and reading the play.

“Having people that put up their hand knowing that they’re going to represent the state and know that it’s a privilege to do so is also really important.”

Joining Cowan in the WA Country Women’s coaching team is Charlene Miller, who will be Assistant Coach.

Nominations are open for athletes to be considered to represent WA Country at the National Championships, with the CBH Group Country Championships set to once again be utilised as selection events.

The 2024 CBH Group Country Championships will be taking place across two weekends in June, with the Women’s Championship event from 14-16 June, followed by the Men’s Championship event from 21-23 June.

The Hockey Australia Country Championships takes place in Goulburn, NSW from Saturday 3 August to Saturday 10 August, 2024.