Meet the Panel & Today’s Big Topic

At the heart of this episode is Joy Jouret, a Belgian coach of impressive breadth—former national player, coach of youth and senior teams (both men’s and women’s sides at the highest level), and now a scholar finishing a master’s degree in psychology with a thesis that zeroes in on gender representation in coaching. With Joy leading the way, our roundtable also featured Katrina Powell (head coach, Australian women’s national team), Janneke Schopman (ex-USA, India, and now Germany women’s national coach), and Veronica Scott (director of hockey at Colorado Academy, seasoned player and coach on three continents). I, Ernst Baart, did my best to stir the discussion and (mostly) stay out of their way.

Top Talking Points from the Workshop

1. The Current (Stagnant) Landscape Joy gave us a data-driven reality check: despite decades of progress in female participation, coaching numbers are stuck—globally, female coaches are just 20% across all sports, and only 10-15% at high performance. This isn’t trending upwards. And we’re not just talking field hockey.

2. Structural, Systemic, and Perception Barriers The panel dug into the “eco-system” of obstacles—individual, interpersonal, organisational, and societal. Want a diagram? Joy’s research has one—it looks a bit like lasagne, and it’s not always appetising.

3. Stereotyping and Self-Belief We all laughed and shook our heads at familiar stories—players who’d only ever been coached by men, sometimes preferring it simply because it’s what they’re used to. Katrina nailed it: “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” The psychological overlay—imposter syndrome, tokenism, stereotype threat—was unpacked in detail, and yes, that stuff is alive and well.

4. The Glass Ceiling, Rubber Walls, and Missed Opportunities Janneke recounted her own dance with the “rubber wall”—loaded with qualifications and experience, only to bounce off invisible barriers. Top jobs going unadvertised or un-interviewed? We don’t mince words.

5. Cultural Differences: US vs. Europe/Australia/India Veronica and Janneke reflected on the upside-down world of US college hockey, where female coaches are (in some cases) favoured, but rarely seen in men’s programs. In India or Europe, the problem is compounded by economic and cultural factors, not just gender.

6. Mentorship (the Real Pipeline) Call it what you like—giving back, helping the next wave, or just staying connected. Every panelist highlighted the power of informal and formal mentorship (and admitted they’re doing their bit, whether it’s baked into their job or just an open WhatsApp line).

7. Work-Life Realities Flexible scheduling, childcare, and transparent pay—these are not “nice to haves.” Katrina and Veronica pointed out that clubs, schools, and associations need to start with the coach’s reality, not just their own spreadsheet.

8. What National Bodies and FIH Should (Actually) Do There were calls (cheers, even) for more transparency in recruitment, real equality in salaries, and proper accountability for federations—especially those using government funding. Joy challenged the need for gender equity “labels” and for financial incentives tied to inclusion and diversity.

9. Moving Players into Coaching Whether it’s about instilling self-belief or showing clear pathways (and internships), getting high-level players—women in particular—to make the jump into coaching is still a nut to be cracked.

10. The Final Nudge: “Just Do It” From every angle, the message was clear: take the leap. As Joy summed it up: “You’re not a guest in hockey—you belong here.” Katrina added, “Jump in with both feet and have a go. And don’t be afraid to network.”

Fun Fact / Quote to Go

Joy on bringing your whole self to the game:
“We all have superpowers as human beings. Believe in yourself enough and your competencies—bring something really special and unique. It’s not linked to your gender. It’s linked to who you are.”

In Summary – What We Learned

This wasn’t a seminar about blaming the system or giving empty pep talks. Instead, our guests mapped out the real world we’re coaching in—from conscious and unconscious bias to genuine opportunities and the importance of allyship. We were reminded that diverse teams (on the field and in coaching boxes) make for stronger hockey—and that, while there are deep obstacles, there’s also cause for optimism and plenty of practical ideas to act on.

Ready to Take Action?

If this recap hit the mark, or if you want the full, unfiltered conversation—panelists, anecdotes, research, and all—make sure to check out the full panel talk on demand. Bring your coffee (or something stronger), this is a conversation every field hockey coach should be part of.

Let’s keep the conversation going. See you on the field—and maybe at the next panel!

P.S. Got a perspective or story of your own? Hit reply or share on our socials. We want your voice in this mix!

Joep de Mol and Phil Roper

Joep de Mol 🇳🇱 (NED) is the experienced Dutch defender, playing his club hockey for Oranje-Rood in the Dutch Hoofdklasse and his international hockey for the men in orange.

His former team mate at OR is the formidable English striker Phil Roper 🇬🇧 (GBR) playing for Great Britain and Holcombe in the English premier division. Fun fact is the both of them are also co-hosts in their podcast “Let’s stick together“, talking hockey…

Keely Dunn from FH Umpires will channel the questions from her community of umpires during our talk and Ernst Baart from The Hockey Site will do the same for the questions from the coaches.

3D skills in the circle

The topic is the 3D skills in the circle, a challenge for each of the groups represented here. It takes a lot of skills to bring the ball at speed and bouncing off the pitch for the striker. When you manage you get the crow on their feet for sure but maintaining control isn’t easy. Defending the striker bringing the #D game into the circle is a nightmare. When do you go for the ball or when do you just want to control the space. Training both these elements is challenging and umpiring it as well. So let’s share some best practices…

See it live or on demand

As usual if you join our masterclass live it’s free, if you want to watch it afterwards on demand, you need to be a paid member.

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This particular video will remain free for all on our YouTube channels, in the XPS app and here.

Let’s listen to Jeroen Hertzberger (player), Adam Commens (coach), Stephen Butler (shoes), Colin Young (grass) & Alastair Cox (FIH) ↑

We also wrote a column about this same topic for Studio Hockey:

Studio Hockey

Dry artificial grass?

In November 2018 Thierry Weil, the then newly appointed CEO of the FIH, surprised the world of hockey. He announced the Games of Paris 2024 would be played on a surface that did not need any water. His main message was hockey can be played on any surface. A message I support with all of my heart and is a key factor, I believe, in growing the sport world…

Read more

3 years ago · Ernst Baart

We’ll follow up…

Now you can be the judge if these ingredients make up a nice recipe in the video below… But sometimes life creeps up on you and Xavier Reckinger had to cancel just before we were live (with a solid reason 😉), so we very happy to have Bernardo Fernandes interrupt his jog and join us last minute (literally last minute almost). Bernardo Fernandes was a co-founder from our platform and has coached in Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

The full video can be found at my YouTube channel as well as the channel for FHumpires… or you can watch it here on demand for free, as well as in our XPS app.

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The fourth panel talk from January 29, just before the medal games featured Thomas Briels 🇧🇪, Miki Delas 🇪🇸, Tobias Walter 🇩🇪 and Sander Baart 🇳🇱.

The third panel talk from January 27, just before the semi finals featured Jeroen Baart 🇧🇪, Danny Kerry 🇬🇧, Ben Bishop 🇦🇺 & Jude Menezes 🇳🇿.

The second panel talk from January 21 following all poule games featured Xavier Reckinger 🇧🇪 & Agus Corradini 🇦🇷 .

The first panel talk from January 15 featured Mark Knowles 🇦🇺, Mo Fürste 🇩🇪, Bob de Voogd 🇳🇱 & Judith Vandermeiren 🇧🇪

Enjoy a short clip from the panel talk with Mo Fürste & co talking about PCD: