Australia Hockey Legend Ric Charlesworth Named Coach of Year 2014
Ric Charlesworth has retired from international hockey coaching after Australia won the World Cup in The Hague last year.
The international hockey federation (FIH) has named Ric Charlesworth the men's team Coach of the Year 2014. Max Caldas has been awarded the women's team Coach of the Year.
In June this year, Charlesworth retired from international hockey coaching, a day after his Kookaburra team lifted the World Cup in The Hague. It was a fitting finale to a long and illustrious career, with the Australians taking the trophy in style, beating host nation the Netherlands in emphatic fashion.
Since taking over as coach of the men's team in 2009, Charlesworth has led the Kookaburras to World Cup and Commonwealth Games titles, an Olympic bronze and four Champions Trophy gold medals.
Prior to that, he was coach to the women's national team, picking up two Olympic gold medals, two World Cup gold medals, one Commonwealth Games gold and four Champions Trophy gold medals. An incredible haul of honours in addition to his illustrious playing career.
In 2014, Charlesworth has also received the FIH Order of Merit, in recognition of his unique personal achievements. He was also part of Indian hockey but quit after differences with the sports authorities.
From 2012 to 2014, it seemed that everything Caldas touched turned to gold. The former Argentinian international took over as head coach to the Netherland's women in 2010, although he had been assistant coach when they won gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The team repeated this feat under Caldas's control at the 2012 London Olympics and then added a hockey World League gold in 2013 and World Cup gold in 2014.
The World Cup, won in front of 15,000 adoring fans in The Hague, was the pinnacle of Caldas's career with the women's team. Really there was nowhere else he could go as the Oranje stormed to victory -- only conceding one goal in all their matches and ensuring Max became the first FIH Women's team Coach of the Year.
Caldas, who is contracted to the Dutch Hockey Board until after Rio 2016, has now moved to coach the national men's team and his replacement as head coach to the women, Sjoerd Marijne, paid him the ultimate compliment when he said he planned to "change very little from the way Max did things."