Huge turnout at FIH coaching courses 

Hockey development in Namibia recently received a boost when more than 50 participants completed Level 1 and Level 2 international hockey coaching courses in Windhoek.

The courses were conducted by FIH (International Hockey Federation) instructor Herman Kruis of the Netherlands, and focussed on the fundamentals of hockey coaching while also incorporating modern training techniques. 

It was the first time in five years that the FIH had presented coaching courses in Namibia, and the president of the Namibia Hockey Union, Carin Slabbert said it was a great turn-out.

“We havent had an FIH coaching course for quite a while, and when we sent out invitations to our clubs there was such a big demand that we had to split it up into two Level 1 courses and one Level 2 course.

“The School of Excellence which runs a hockey development programme throughout Namibia sent 14 coaches, one from each region, to do the Level 1 course, while we also had four coaches who were trained as instructors and presented the courses alongside Kruis,” she added. 

Slabbert said that the local instructors – Erwin Handura, Kagiso Mosiane, Shayne Cormack and Neville Gora – will now be able to conduct Level 1 courses throughout the country.

The participants mostly consisted of club and school coaches, as well as teachers and former or current players and according to Slabbert some of the participants excelled in the course. 

“Some of our current and former players like David Britz, Delron Handura and Penda Namundjebo did so well in th Level 1 course that they were upgraded and allowed to do the Level 2 course as well,” she said. 

The coaching courses were sanctioned by the FIH, while the president of the Africa Hockey Federation, Seif Ahmed, was also in attendance. 

The courses followed on the successful hosting of the Africa Junior Cup where Namibia made history with its u21 men and women’s teams both qualifying for the Junior World Cup for the first time. 

“It was a great achievement by our juniors, if one considers that they were only ranked fifth before the tournament but they both finished in second place to qualify for the Junior World Cup,” Slabbert said. 

She said that Namibia’s senior men and women’s outdoor teams will both compete in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals which will be held in Ismailia, Egypt from 20 to 31 August. The tourmnament will serve as a qualifier for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, The Netherlands from 14 to 30 August 2026.