Vellinga named Lead Coach of NZ Indoor Hockey programme

Hockey New Zealand is pleased to announce the appointment of Reiner Vellinga to our coaching team as our Lead Coach for the National Indoor Hockey programme.

Steve Symonds, Indoor Advisory Group (Performance Lead) is thrilled to have Reiner appointed as Lead Coach for the programme, “he brings a wealth of experience and already through the selection process he has added great insight and thinking for us to take on board.

“To have someone of Reiner’s ability leading, guiding, and supporting the coaches and national teams gives us real confidence that a national and international programme can develop quickly and become a viable part of the Hockey NZ set up.”

After almost twenty years of absence in New Zealand, Vellinga said “I am excited and feel humbled to be part of the resurrection of indoor hockey NZ. It would be great for indoor hockey to take back a prominent place within our hockey community.

“Indoor hockey provides huge opportunities to players of all abilities to develop their hockey skills, and the game itself is fast and spectacular. I am excited to become a contributor to the growth of the game, and I look forward to working with the many athletes and coaches who will fall in love with this format. I’m looking forward to the years to come, in which we will work to get both domestic competitions and a national program up and running.”

Reiner’s history of coaching indoor links back to the Netherlands, where he coached in the National Indoor Competition, winning several bronze, silver and gold medals at the U18 and U16 National Championships.

In more recent years Reiner has coached successful Midlands NHL and U21 campaigns (2016-2019) and has been involved in the NZ U18 and NZ U21 programs since 2017.

Hockey NZ would also like to acknowledge support from the Indoor Advisory Group for their involvement in this process.