Bobby Crutchley admitted it was with a heavy heart that he had decided to step away from his role as head coach of the England and Great Britain men’s hockey teams.
Crutchley has worked for England and Great Britain Hockey for almost two decades and most recently led the England men’s team to bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
But he has announced the time has come for a new challenge, with the recruitment for his successor beginning immediately.
Crutchley said: "It has been an incredibly difficult decision to resign, particularly considering how much both the England & Great Britain teams mean to me, but I feel the time is right to step down. With medals at the European Championships in 2017 and Commonwealth Games in 2018, I think the squad is in a great place to push on to the next level.
"It has been a privilege to work alongside so many great athletes and support staff over the years. I am now looking forward to a fresh challenge and excited how I can use my experience to help support coaches and athletes in the future, wherever that may be."
A former international player, Crutchley was assistant coach to the senior women’s squad from 2003 to 2004 before joining Jason Lee’s men’s coaching team the following year.
Alongside Lee, he helped England rise up the world rankings and was in the dugout as they won the European Championship title for the first time in 2009 – with a bronze coming in 2011.
On the Olympic stage, he coached the men’s team to fifth at Beijing 2008, and fourth at London 2012, with the team just missing out on a medal to Australia.
Team GB failed to reach the quarter-finals at Rio 2016 but the England team responded in 2017 with bronze at the European Championships before the same colour at the recent Commonwealth Games – the latter representing the second medal at that level under Crutchley.
Performance Director Ed Barney said, "It has been a pleasure to work with Bobby over the past 18 months. Following on from Rio, Bobby has brought a new dynamic and set of performance priorities to the men’s programme leading to European and Commonwealth Games medals.
"Without doubt the building blocks, thanks to Bobby, are in place for the programme to progress successfully throughout the Tokyo cycle. I wish Bobby all the very best in his future ventures.”
In total, Crutchley was involved in more than 500 international games as player, assistant coach and head coach. Sportsbeat 2018