GB Under-16s appointment for Aldridge

Ryan Aldridge has been named as assistant coach of Great Britain Under-16s. The 42-year-old joins head coach Jamie Elson and fellow assistant Ian Turley on the U16s coaching staff.

Aldridge began his coaching career with Bracknell Bees before a couple of seasons in charge of Basingstoke Bison in the Elite League.

He moved on to coach Swindon Wildcats and also spent two seasons as England Under-19 head coach.

Aldridge took-up a coaching role in the Okanagan Hockey Academy in 2012 – and has been head coach of their under-18 programme since 2015.

“I am very proud to have the opportunity to work within the GB programme and I am excited about the coming months,” he said.

“Working with this age group is where my passion is and I am looking forward to working with such a talented group of athletes.”

David Hand, Chair of the GB Programme Board, said: “Ryan is a very experienced coach and it’s fantastic to have him as part of the Great Britain set-up.

“You only need to look at his playing and coaching CV to see how experienced he is – Ryan has coached at all levels of the game in the UK.

“On behalf of the GB Programme Board, I’d like to welcome him to the coaching staff and we look forward to working with him going forward.”