South African Head Coach Garreth Ewing has resigned from his role as head coach of the SA Hockey Men. Ewing, who has just completed the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia with the SA Hockey Men, took the reins following the conclusion of the 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup.
Under Ewing’s charge the team secured a number of statement victories non less impactful than a 4-3 victory over Germany at the Tokyo Olympics, which would ultimately lead to an invite to the FIH Pro League for one season. Another statement victory was South Africa’s first ever victory over New Zealand in a major tournament at the Commonwealth Games that secured South Africa a first semi-final in 20 years.
In total Ewing oversaw the South African men as head coach in 63 test matches and was one of the finalists for the FIH Coach of the Year in 2022. Interim CEO of South African Hockey thanked Garreth for his tremendous service:
“We would like to thank Garreth for his efforts with the South African Hockey Men. We are undoubtedly in a better place than when he took over the team and we have become a worthy competitor to the best nations in the world. Garreth, we wish you all the best for your next challenges and look forward to seeing you on the side of the turf!”
For the South African Hockey Men, the busy calendar continues with the FIH Nations Cup in Potchefstroom later this month before the FIH Hockey World Cup in India in January. As a result, South African Hockey have appointed interim head coach Cheslyn Gie to oversee the next period of action for the SA Hockey Men. Gie spoke of his pride at the opportunity.
“The opportunity to lead the country is an absolute privilege. We have made great strides in the team in the past couple of years and we will look to build on it in the upcoming tournaments.”
Formal procedures will follow to appoint the full-time head coach for the Hockey men following the completion of the FIH Hockey World Cup in January. South African Hockey wishes the SA Hockey Men and Cheslyn Gie best of luck for their upcoming tournaments.
