Holcombe Hockey Club have confirmed that Nick Bandurak has left his role as Head Coach of the Women’s First Eleven.

A statement from the club reads:

“Holcombe Hockey Club confirms that, following the departure of Nick Bandurak in his playing capacity for the Men’s 1XI, after a Committee meeting, careful consideration and much deliberation, the Club has further decided that Nick will be asked to leave his role as Head Coach of the Women’s 1XI, effective immediately. 

The Club’s sponsor has agreed to financially honour the remainder of his contract until it expires or Nick takes a new post elsewhere. 

During Nick’s tenure as Head Coach of the Women’s 1XI, he was triumphant in leading them to immediate promotion back into the Premier Division in their 2023/24 campaign and further taking the team to the England Hockey Tier One Championship cup final, where they narrowly finished as runners-up.

He has established himself as a top-quality coach, overseeing the progression of junior players into the England National Age Group squads, among his other achievements.

The Club had taken the difficult decision not to exercise a contractual option to extend Nick’s term with us as a player for the Men’s 1XI for the 2024/25 season.

At the beginning of the season, Nick requested a one-year contract for his role as Head Coach of the Women’s 1XI which is scheduled to expire at the end of the current campaign. However, the decision has now been made to relieve Nick of his duties in the Club’s best interests.

Holcombe Hockey Club remains committed to fostering a positive and supportive environment for all players and staff. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Nick for his contributions and dedication during his time with the Club and wish him every success in his future endeavours.

The Committee of Holcombe Hockey Club

Picture supplied by Jon Goodall.