HOCKEY - McLeod steps up to role as coach

Northland Hockey CEO Grant McLeod has stepped into the hot seat as the new women's National Hockey League coach after his search to find a coach for the side came up empty-handed.
It's not a job he was looking for, but recruiting time for a suitably qualified coach for the team had come and gone and it was time for action.
"Basically, if we didn't appoint someone this week we were going to be too far behind the eight-ball. We needed to get on with it and we'd searched high and low for a coach with no luck, and time was up," he said.
While saying his hand had been forced, he was already looking forward to the challenges ahead.
"I'm not the kind of guy to take the job on lightly and, whilst I've been reluctant to put my hand up, I'm a passionate Northlander and I'll always do my best for our province, and we'll be doing the best job we'll can do," he said.
The job ahead of McLeod and his coaching staff has been made more difficult with the news last weekend that two of the province's top players, Charlotte Harrison and Rhonda Rowsell, were unavailable for the NHL after signing for Belgium Club Braxgata.
The news provided the final impetus for McLeod's decision.
"There was also a chance that, with Charlotte and Rhonda moving on, there was a risk that more people would decide they weren't going to play if we hadn't appointed someone," he said.
The two players are part of a national player drain that has Hockey New Zealand considering moving their elite tournament forward to an earlier date next year.
"Losing that quality of players will be difficult for us but I understand there are 12 new players in the Canterbury team this year, because a lot of the Black Sticks won't be playing and it does give us an opportunity, and gives new players an opportunity," McLeod said.
Although he has never coached the Northland women's team before there's no doubting he is qualified for the job. McLeod is currently assistant coach for the New Zealand U21 women's team. He has coached the Northland men's team and various age-group representative teams of both genders as well as making 115 appearances for New Zealand as a player.
"I've had a fairly varied coaching history and, no matter who you coach, it's still a game of hockey ... and that's how I see the job, to get the best performance that you can out of the players," he said.
Former Northland coach Vicki Gribble, will be assistant coach.
With the loss of Harrison, Rowsell and possibly striker Anna Thorpe, there was some good news for the new coach to spill.
"I've already talked to Jasmine McQuinn and she's keen on coming back to play, and there's no problem there because she's a centralised Black Stick player and she has a two-year window that she can choose where she can play, so that's a bonus," he said.
The new coach is calling for all interested players to attend an informal meeting at the hockey stadium this Sunday.
Two games against North Harbour and Auckland on July 27 and August 3 respectively will be used as trial games before the tournament begins on September 19.