Herman Kruis appointed as Hockey India’s high performance director

Herman Kruis, the former head coach of the Netherlands women’s hockey team, was appointed as the new high performance director by Hockey India on Tuesday.

The 67-year-old Kruis, a certified FIH coach-educator, brings a wealth of experience to his role. He will oversee Hockey India’s programmes for the national junior and senior hockey teams till September 2024. Kruis’s responsibilities also include supervision of Hockey India’s Coaches Education Pathway among other tasks.

With over two decades of coaching under his belt, Herman Kruis boasts an impressive track record. Kruis was the national head coach of the Netherlands indoor women’s hockey team from 2006 to 2008 and the Dutch outdoor team from 2008 to 2010. He led the Den Bosch Ladies, a Dutch club, to clinch the European Cup eight times in-a-row. 

Kruis was the national head coach of the Belarus indoor and outdoor hockey teams from 2016 to 2023. He was appointed as the coach of the Indian hockey teams in August 2023 for the men’s and women’s Junior Hockey World Cup.

India settled for a fourth-place finish at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 in Malaysia in December while in the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 in Chile, India finished ninth.