Greg Nicol has extended his role as Hockey New Zealand National Athlete Pathway Manager for the next three years.

Nicol recently oversaw a successful six-month pilot of the newly created role, which will lead Hockey New Zealands approach to identifying and developing high potential players.

The purpose of the role is to ensure that future players of international quality are progressed through to the Vantage Black Sticks Mens and Womens squads.

Nicol will lead the development and implementation of an overarching High Performance Athlete Development plan at regional and national levels, including Vantage Under 18s and Vantage Under 21s.

Hockey New Zealand High Performance Director Paul MacKinnon said it was great to have a person of such high calibre in the role.

"Gregs role is focused on identifying and developing high potential players to progress players of the right quality and support the Vantage Black Sticks teams on the world stage," he said.

"He has initially been busy connecting with regions at national tournaments and development programmes to begin setting up a sustainable talent identification and talent development system for hockey in New Zealand.

"After a successful six months we are very pleased to have Greg stay on for at least the next three years and look forward to the continuation of his work."


- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ