Parnham will officially leave his position at the end of the year.

His future within the organisation is secure, however, as he is set to go into a new role entitled "director of coach education and learning".

Parnham's assistant Janneke Schopman has been named as his successor, and will take over as head coach on January 1, 2017.

"I have not taken the decision to step down from my role lightly," Parnham said.

“Rio was my fifth Olympic Games. 

"I feel that I can step back knowing that the programme is in a healthier place than it was when I arrived.

"It has been a privilege to have worked with such dedicated, professional athletes.

"I would like to thank all those involved in seeing the US women's national team elevate themselves to one of the top six teams in the world."

The American team finished fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after they were beaten 2-1 by Germany in the quarter-finals.

Schopman, the current head coach of the US under-21 team, won Olympic silver with The Netherlands' field hockey team in 2004.

She then captained the gold medal-winning 2008 squad in addition to claiming gold at the 2006 World Cup and the 2004, 2005 and 2007 Champions Trophy tournaments.

"I was very honoured to receive the phone call," said Schopman.

"You go from being an assistant coach with a gut feeling after the Olympics of ‘we’re not done, this is just the beginning for this team’ to getting the privilege of being the head coach and continue the progress in the programme.

"For me, I have always had this ambition and from this respect it’s a great opportunity.

"At the same time, it’s exciting because I want to move and continue the path that we’ve created for the past two and half years I’ve been with the team."