Interview: Meet Katrina Powell, Australia National Women’s Head Coach
The triple Olympian talks World Cup preparation, players to watch and the developments that are shaping the women’s game
She played for the Australia Hockeyroos from 1995 to 2004 representing Australia in three Olympic Games, including Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 where the HockeyRoos scooped the gold. In 2007 she turned her talents to coaching, becoming the National Junior Women’s Coach. Now, as the first female Head Coach of the Hockeyroos in 43 years, she took her team to the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. She is Katrina Powell and we were privileged to catch up with her as she prepares her team for next year’s Hockey World Cup.
As a player, you were coached by Ric Charlesworth when the Hockeyroos were at their height. What impact did this have?
What stood out with Ric was how hard he worked and how prepared he was. As a player I felt that we had done everything to be the best that we could be. If that was good enough then great, we would have success, but if it wasn't good enough that was ok too, because we had done all we could.
Talk us through your World Cup qualification journey.
Our World Cup qualification starts with the Oceania cup versus New Zealand in Darwin on 4-7 September. This is a three-match series and the winner qualifies for next year's World Cup. We are currently in the final preparation for this.
The loser will go to a qualifying tournament in March next year and the locations are unknown at this stage. There will be two tournaments consisting of eight teams with seven spots available. The top three from each tournament will qualify, with the final position being decided by rankings.
“We have a really good mix of experience and youth. With some retirements after the Paris Olympics, we were able to refresh the squad which brings new energy into the group.”
What happens if you do qualify in Darwin?
At the start of the year the Pro League begins in Hobart. We’re hosting Germany, Argentina, China and Ireland so that will get our World Cup year up and running. The Pro League ensures we get very good preparation for the World Cup and can work on our combinations and tactics against the best teams.
Once our Pro League finishes in June in London, we’ll return to Perth for five weeks where we have a centralized program so all the players are together.
For the World Cup itself, we don't know yet whether we’ll be based in the Netherlands or Belgium but we will aim to be there for 10 days before the tournament and will look to have practice games against teams that are not in our pool.
How is the squad?
We have a really good mix of experience and youth. With some retirements after the Paris Olympics, we were able to refresh the squad which is always good as it brings new energy into the group.
For many of our players the World Cup will be their first big tournament, so we are working hard to prepare them to be ready for this experience.
Who are your teams to beat?
The Dutch are the stand-out team, but there are signs that other teams are getting closer to them.
After that, many of the other countries are progressing very well. China, Belgium, Germany and Argentina played very well in the Pro League.
We lost to England recently in London so they are also dangerous. The USA is strong and fit and although India have been relegated from the Pro League, they will also be very tough.
One thing is for sure, there will be no easy games at the World Cup.
Who are your players to watch?
There are so many great players at the moment. In the Dutch team Xan de Waard, Yibbi Jansen and Felice Albers are standouts.
Flora Peel and Fiona Crackles are strong in the English midfield and defense, and Deepika Kumari for India is a terrific goal scorer.
What are the biggest developments in play we’re likely to see at this World Cup?
The new rules around overheads are an improvement and this part of the game is growing in women's hockey so I think it will have more and more impact.
I feel that the woman's game is headed towards more one-on-one marking which I think is a bit of a shame. It is perhaps easier to play and coach but I also think it gives more opportunities for the attackers.
