Greg Nicol (born 2 April 1975) is a South African former field hockey player who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics and in the 2004 Summer Olympics.[1] On 23 December 2021 he was announced as the new head coach of the New Zealand men's national team.[2]Greg Nicol served as assistant coach, in various forms, since 2006 for the Vantage Black Sticks Men’s (VBS) at the Beijing Olympics, and then at the Rio Olympics in 2016. He was also an assistant coach for the VBS Women at the London Olympics in 2012. In 2017 Nicol took on the challenge of a newly created role as the Athlete Pathway Manager. In this role he was successful in laying the foundations for a national talent development system for hockey in New Zealand for which HNZ are now reaping the benefits. Nicol left this position to pursue other opportunities in 2019.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 2 April 1975 | ||
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1993-1997 | University of KwaZulu Natal | ||
| 2005 | Holcombe (UK) | ||
| National team | |||
| Years | Team | Apps (Gls) | |
| 1994-2004 | South Africa | 200 (240) | |
| Teams coached | |||
| 2006-2019 (various assistant roles) | New Zealand | ||
| 2021-present (Head Coach) | New Zealand | ||
He is 5th on the all time goal scoring list, 3rd highest since the advent of astro turf. Achieving the record over the shortest playing period of those with more than 200 goals.(*4 April 2020) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_men%27s_field_hockey_players_with_100_or_more_international_goals
References edit
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Greg Nicol". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Former assistant Greg Nicol confirmed as new Black Sticks men's coach". stuff.co.nz. stuff. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
External links edit
- Greg Nicol at the International Hockey Federation
- Greg Nicol at Olympedia
- Greg Nicol at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
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