As a result of a thorough recruitment process, we are pleased to announce the following appointments to the coaching team of the Women’s 1st team: Martin Foxall (above left) as Head Coach and Rob Schilling (above right) as Assistant Coach.

Martin and Rob are very well known at Southgate and have performed at high levels in the game. Martin is a highly experienced and well respected coach having been involved in the game at every level. His experience ranges from coaching men’s teams in the National League to working with junior players just starting out in hockey. He also has an excellent track record in developing individuals to reach the highest levels of performance. Rob started as a Southgate junior player before hockey took him to the USA where he earned over 100 international caps (indoor and outdoor). Since returning to England, he has competed in the National League for East Grinstead and Surbiton before returning to Southgate in 2019. Like Martin, Rob is a highly experienced coach both at junior and senior level. He brings a wealth of knowledge from his work in South Africa, Australia and the USA. He is currently Director of Hockey at Haileybury School.

We believe that in Martin and Rob we have secured a first class leadership team who will bring the required knowledge and experience to the role. Their appointment has enabled us to take a holistic approach to the development of the Women’s section. We are excited that these coaches will also be spending time working with our designated development team, the Ladies 3’s. This demonstrates our commitment to provide clear player pathways for our adult and junior players. We are also very pleased to announce that Charles Hamilton will continue to coach the ladies 2’s, following on from the successes of last season. We hope to be able to promote more indoor hockey this season, an area in which Rob is a specialist. We are currently working to finalise the coaching teams for the Ladies 4’s and 5’s.

We also aim to provide and promote opportunities for Martin, Rob and Charles to work collaboratively alongside the very successful, experienced coaches in the Girls Junior Section, namely John Shaw, Grant Homann and Matt McDonnell. In this way we hope to maximise our coaching resources in developing a clear and integrated player pathway.