Softball: Hunt on for Black Sox coach

Softball New Zealand has begun the search for the next coach of the world champion Black Sox.

After leading the national men's team to their sixth world softball title at Rosedale Park in March, coach Eddie Kohlhase indicated he would not be back for a third tournament at the helm.

And, after a couple of months to reflect, Kohlhase has opted to stand by that decision.

"Eddie has been an incredible asset to the game of softball and the Black Sox in particular, firstly as a player, then an assistant coach and, most recently, as head coach,'' said Softball NZ general manager Dane Dougan.

"We certainly hope to retain his services in the high performance field going forward, but we now face the challenge of finding a suitable replacement for our flagship team.''

With the world championship cycle now shortened to every two years, the team must now begin a build-up towards defending their crown at Saskatoon, Canada in 2015.

The Black Sox have now won four of the last five world titles, with the last three coaches - Kohlhase (2013), Don Tricker (2000, 2004) and Mike Walsh (1996) - all tasting success.

But New Zealand have found Saskatoon a particularly unhappy hunting ground - they finished runners-up there in 1988 and 2009.

Applications close on May 24 and Softball New Zealand hope to announce a new coach by mid-June.