Great Britain would like to confirm the additions of four members to the off-ice staff.
- Sam Kelvey has been appointed GB Programme Head of Specialist Sports Science & Medicine, as well as being Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach with GB Women.
- Pamela Ibarra has taken up the role of Lead Nutritionist with GB Women and will also work with the under-20s and under-18s men’s teams
- Natasha Charlwood has been appointed as Lead Nutritionist with GB Under-18 Women, alongside a role with the under-16s men’s and women’s teams.
- Daisy Lee has been appointed to the role of Psychologist for the Great Britain teams.
Sam Kelvey first got involved in ice hockey in a Strength & Conditioning role with Manchester Phoenix and went on to be a founder member of the EIHA Athletic Development team.
He has been coaching in sport and athletic development for nearly 20 years, including athletics, football, rugby league and motorcycle racing.
Originally from Mexico, Pamela Ibarra is a performance nutritionist with over 10 years of experience in the health, fitness and sports industry, working with clients and athletes from Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Singapore and now the UK.
She previously worked in an intern position with Everton Women and has also supported scholar and TASS athletes at the LJMU high-performance unit.
Natasha Charlwood is currently nutritionist at Leicestershire County Cricket Club and Oxford Activate Academy – and is also completing her internship at Bristol Bears supporting the women’s team.
Her professional credits include Worcester Rugby Club, Bracknell Gymnastics club where she worked with GB TeamGym athletes and, more recently, a project with England Rugby.
Daisy Lee is a trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist on the taught doctorate programme at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).
Her recent research has focused on minor traumatic brain injuries and concussion in sport, with previous research including physical activity and exercise for mental health, eye-tracking for decision-making and colour vision deficiency in sport.
Ice Hockey UK Chair, Clifton Wrottesley, said: “I’d like to officially welcome Sam, Pamela, Natasha and Daisy to the Great Britain set-up.
“Superbly led by Sam, they’ve already played a massive part in further professionalising the off-ice provision of the GB programme and we are excited to have them on-board.
“These areas of support off the ice are vitally important to the success of the programme and our athletes – and they will play a huge role going forward.
“We are giving our athletes what they need in terms of support off the ice to help them succeed on the ice.”
