Kerry (pictured top), 42, head coach of England and Great Britain women's hockey since 2004, has overseen the most successful period in the teams' history, during which time England have secured four European bronze medals and two Commonwealth Games bronzes, as well as Champions Trophy silver and bronze.

Four years before winning Olympic bronze, he guided Britain's women to sixth place at the Beijing 2008 Games.

"My new role in performance sport represents significant but exciting challenges for me," said Kerry, who will take over on January 2.

"Hockey has undergone a lengthy period of change since I began as head coach.

"The single system player pathway has been implemented and our governance has evolved and is now seen as a model for others.

"The national teams have trained at a level of professionalism never before seen in our history and as a result we have won medals at world and Olympic level.

"We have seen significant progression in our standing internationally, not just in terms of the performances of our national teams but also in our ability to host world level events.

"How we move on – the high expectations we set of ourselves to continue to grow - is something I look forward to now focusing my energies on with our first class and highly experienced performance team.

"I am excited about the possibilities the future holds.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the work of my predecessor David Faulkner.

"He brought to this position an enormous energy, industry and personality which will be hard to replace and will be universally missed."


As performance director, Kerry will be responsible for overseeing the programmes of the England and Great Britain senior and junior national teams, and coaching development and the player pathway in England.

The position carries with it responsibility for Great Britain on account of England Hockey being the "nominated country" for Britain.

He will also become one of five executive directors of England Hockey.

Speaking of Kerry's appointment Sally Munday, chief executive of England Hockey, said: "Our international teams have made great strides over the last eight years.

"We were looking for a new performance director who could continue to raise the bar and drive further improvement in the performance programmes.

"Danny has shown strong leadership in his position as Head Coach and has demonstrated he has the skills."

England Hockey chairman Philip Kimberley added: "Danny has very clear views on how we take our senior squad performances to the next level and I look forward to his leadership in this role and to welcoming him to the board.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank David Faulkner for his massive contribution to the sport over the last seven and a half years and wish him well in his new role with Millfield School."

The recruitment process to appoint a new head coach for the England and Great Britain women's teams will start in the New Year.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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