Northampton Saints Hockey Club appoint two International Coaches to drive local sporting excellence

Northampton Saints Hockey Club (NSHC) Club Statement, 05 June 2022 – NSHC is delighted to announce it has secured the services of Lisa and Simon Letchford, two Internationally recognised Coaches who will lead the Club’s development of Youth Talent, Performance Programmes and Ladies and Men’s First Teams.

The news follows Lisa and Simon Letchford’s move to the area, where they school their two children, having spent several years in Belgium as professional hockey Coaches.

Lisa and Simon Letchford join in new roles as Developement Directors

Lisa

Lisa brings a wealth of International Honours including 99 Caps for England and Great Britain, including appearances at The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006 and the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. Following her retirement, Lisa took up roles in Belgium.

Domestically, she was the first Woman to coach in the Men’s Honour Division, the premier league in the country, and won both indoor and outdoor titles in the Women’s competitions. Internationally she worked in the Girls Pathway for the Belgium Hockey Federation. She is currently Lead Talent Coach and U16’s Girls Head Coach at England Hockey.

Lisa explains her philosophy to coaching “you get out what you put in. I follow this through from my playing days into coaching at all levels. In a Coaching capacity, the primary thought is your relationship with the players that makes the greatest difference. I see my role as inspiring people to see and realise their potential.”

Lisa joins with many years as a elite Player and Coach

Simon

Simon is a career Coach, having played at the highest domestic level in England. He has worked in roles at premium European Clubs such as Harvestehuder THC in the German Bundesliga followed by Royal Wellington, Royal Racing Brussels, and Daring in the Honour Division in Belgium.

In addition, he worked in both Senior and U21 programmes for the Belgium Hockey Federation, medalling on both the European and World stage.  Since returning to the UK, he has taken up a role with Great Britain Hockey as Head Coach to the Elite Development Programme (EDP). Within the EDP sits England U21 and in the Spring of 2022 Simon helped them achieve a first Bronze Medal at the World Cup in South Africa.

Simon commented “people will likely know me for my work ethic, attention to detail and my ability to communicate that simply. I’ve come to learn different ways of using this by managing the widest range of players, from beginners to household named Internationals.”

Simon has built a successful CV with many top European Clubs

Building on existing cultural values

The married couple have a clear vision by working as Development Directors at NSHC. “Our purpose is to help shape the Club’s direction of travel into a higher-level, more comprehensive offering in the Midlands. We are here because we get a family-feel for where the Club is at right now and we know, from our past, that is critical to the foundation of future growth. We feel a sense of belonging here both on and off the pitch. It’s important to have a culture where everyone can see their impact and what they are working towards, whether you are a parent, young or experienced player, Coach or Umpire.”

First team focus

In addition to the Director role, Lisa also picks up responsibility for the Men’s First Team Head Coach. The side currently sits in the Midlands Premier Division, one below the National standard. In this capacity Lisa describes her intentions, “my aim is to bring an advanced level of ‘hockey-IQ’ to the squad both in training and match days. I feel we can improve the players skills, broaden their view of the game with the use of video analysis and help build a stronger level of engagement across the teams.”

Long term commitment

Club President, Andy Dale said “during the past few years, Lisa and Simon have operated at such an elite level that it is difficult to ignore when they are so local to the Club. Add into the mix, they have taken up significant jobs at England Hockey, so it was clear to me we had to approach them to join Northampton Saints HC.

In our conversations with them both leading up to these appointments, we were deeply impressed with their long-term vision for growing youth engagement, setting new standards and building on the cultural values we already have. It goes without saying, this is the most significant appointment in the Clubs history. We are all extremely excited to see how the next few years develop.”

The Appointments have been driven by the vision from the Exec Group

Lisa and Simon take up the posts with immediate effect.