New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): Hockey India on Thursday introduced the appointment of embellished Frenchman Frederic Soyez because the Coach of the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team, reinforcing its long-term imaginative and prescient of constructing a sustainable high-performance ecosystem aligned with India’s ambitions for the 2036 Olympic Games.
According to a press launch from Hockey India, Soyez is without doubt one of the most achieved coaches in European hockey and brings over three a long time of elite hockey expertise, together with 15 years as a global participant for France and over 15 years as a Head Coach on the highest degree of world hockey.
Soyez, who loved an illustrious enjoying profession with France from 1995 to 2010, incomes 196 worldwide caps and scoring a formidable 195 targets for the workforce, coached the nationwide males’s hockey groups of each France and Spain. He boasts expertise at three Olympic Games, having guided Spain on the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics earlier than main France on the Paris 2024 Olympics.
During his tenure with Spain, he guided the workforce to a Silver Medal on the 2019 European Championships, whereas additionally steering them to quarter-final finishes on the Rio and Tokyo Olympics.
A confirmed developer of younger expertise, Soyez coached France to a historic Silver Medal on the FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in Delhi in 2013 and most not too long ago guided the French U18 Men’s Team to a Silver Medal on the 2025 European Championships.
He moreover served because the High-Performance Director of the French Hockey Federation from 2021 to 2024, overseeing the nation’s broader high-performance and athlete improvement construction.
His teaching resume additionally consists of participation in two FIH Men’s Hockey World Cups (2018, 2023) and 6 European Championships (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023), underlining his intensive expertise on the elite worldwide degree. At the home degree, Soyez guided Lille MHC to French Indoor and Outdoor Championship titles in 2012, together with EuroHockey Trophy Indoor and Outdoor titles in the identical yr.
Widely regarded for his experience in high-performance programs, athlete improvement, and penalty nook technique, Soyez has persistently constructed groups with robust tactical construction and aggressive consistency throughout all ranges.
Notably, Soyez’s appointment resonates with the Government of India’s goal of making a robust pathway in direction of sustained Olympic success and sporting self-reliance main as much as the 2036 Olympics. As a part of this bigger imaginative and prescient, Hockey India has targeted on bringing the perfect teaching and high-performance sources from internationally to additional strengthen the nation’s hockey ecosystem.
Moreover, Hockey India’s long-term technique additionally locations vital emphasis on creating Indian coaches alongside worldwide specialists. To guarantee information switch and continuity, Indian coaches have been built-in throughout the senior, junior, and sub-junior nationwide camps, with designated Indian coaches working intently alongside the respective Head Coaches at each degree.
This construction goals to create a seamless and aligned teaching philosophy throughout all age-group programmes, guaranteeing that gamers transitioning from sub-junior to junior and ultimately to senior ranges develop underneath a constant enjoying type, coaching methodology, and tactical framework.
Hockey India believes this built-in method will assist construct a wider and deeper expertise pool for the nation within the lead-up to the 2036 Olympics.
Welcoming Soyez to Indian hockey, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey mentioned, ‘We warmly welcome Frederic Soyez to the Hockey India household. Frederic comes with excellent worldwide credentials, having coached at a number of Olympic Games, World Cups, and European Championships, whereas additionally efficiently creating younger expertise and high-performance programs. We consider his expertise and talent set will tremendously profit Indian hockey as we proceed to work in direction of an even bigger long-term imaginative and prescient for the 2036 Olympics.’
He additional added, ‘Our focus will not be solely on fast outcomes but in addition on constructing a deep expertise pool and a training construction that stay aligned from sub-junior to senior degree. By integrating Indian coaches alongside worldwide specialists in each nationwide camp throughout all ranges, we’re guaranteeing continuity in teaching philosophy, participant improvement, and tactical understanding. This collaborative method may even play a significant function in strengthening the capabilities of Indian coaches and making a extra self-sustaining high-performance ecosystem for the longer term.’
Also, Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh acknowledged, ‘Our imaginative and prescient is to create a seamless improvement pathway for Indian hockey gamers from the grassroots to the elite degree. Frederic Soyez’s monitor document in constructing aggressive worldwide groups and nurturing younger athletes makes him a wonderful addition to our setup. His appointment won’t solely strengthen the junior males’s programme but in addition contribute to the bigger goal of constructing a deep and sustainable expertise pool for Indian hockey for years to return.’ (ANI)