Sean Alderson has been appointed Interim Head Coach of Great Britain Under-18 Women and Donna Laverty has been named as Team Manager.
Alderson previously spent seven seasons as Head Coach of the under-18 women between 2008 and 2015, leading them to a silver medal and promotion in 2012 as well a bronze the following year.
Alderson, who will continue with his duties with GB Women, also coached in the England and Conference programmes and is currently head coach of Coventry Blaze’s NIHL 2 side.
“Having been part of the GB Women’s coaching team for the past two-and-a-half years, I was only too happy to take-on the additional responsibility of being Head Coach of the under-18s again,” said Alderson.
“It’s both a privilege and an honour to be part of the GB Programme and getting to work with both the seniors and under-18s will only help to bring the two teams closer together, which in turn will assist Mike’s long-term plans for the women’s programme.
“I look forward to working with Donna (Laverty), Nic (Lazarczuk), Jenny (Hehir) and the rest of the under-18 staff as we prepare the squad for both the Four Nations tournament in Spain and the World Championship in the Netherlands.”
Donna Laverty, who started life in hockey managing registrations for the Sheffield Shadows, takes up the position of Team Manager.
Laverty has also held management roles for the junior and senior women’s team in Nottingham and this year was appointed as Manager of Women’s Elite League team Solihull Vixens.
“I am lucky to be working with a great team of coaching and support staff. The whole squad are working hard and put in so much effort to every training session,” said Laverty.
“Working with the girls this year brings me a lot of hard work but ultimately a great sense of fulfilment and I am really enjoying getting to know the girls and seeing their progression.”
Head of Performance, Andrew Partridge, said: “I’d like to thank Angela Taylor and Sarah Hutchinson who have stood down from their Head Coach and Team Manager roles respectively.
“With the appointments of Sean and Donna – who bring with them a wealth of experience to their new roles – it’s a hugely exciting time to be involved in the women’s programme.
“We all look forward to seeing the under-18s team compete in their Four Nations competition in Spain next month and their IIHF World Championship competition in Netherlands in January.”
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