Softball: Kohlhase named Black Sox head coach

12.00pm

Eddie Kohlhase has been appointed head coach of the world champion New Zealand men's softball team.

He has filled the role of assistant Black Sox coach since 1998, with Don Tricker at the helm when the team won world championship titles in 2000 and 2004.

Tricker stepped down after winning the world crown again in Christchurch earlier this year.

Kohlhase, whose appointment was confirmed today, is excited at the prospect of leading the Black Sox to further success.

"It is a huge honour, the Black Sox have been a big part of my life now for 21 years and this is an opportunity to step up and perhaps take the team to a new level and keep them ahead of the rest of the world," former national representative player Kohlhase said.

The Aucklander debuted for the New Zealand team in 1983 and attended three world championships, picking up a gold and two silvers before retiring as a player in 1995.

Earlier this year Kohlhase was inducted into the Softball New Zealand Hall of Fame for his services to the sport.

While the Black Sox have tasted great success in the past Kohlhase, 37, said the challenge would be to stay ahead of the competition.

He expects to retain a nucleus of about 10 players from the 2004 world championship-winning side.

The long-term goal for the Black Sox team is the 2009 world championships, and Kohlhase plans to spend the intervening years increasing the level and number of athletes to pick from.

"The Black Sox team that gets picked for the Pacific Cup series next year will not be the reining world champions, that was the 2004 team. We need to start again and that is the way we will be looking at it."

Kohlhase said past Black Sox coaches such as Tricker and Mike Walsh had left him with a great base to work from.

Softball New Zealand chief executive Hadyn Smith said Kohlhase brought a lot of experience to the position from his time both as a player and coach, and he had a clear vision of where he wanted to take the Black Sox.

"Eddie has a great professional attitude towards the Black Sox as a group and towards the Black Sox's status within Softball New Zealand.

"His presentation to the selection panel was one of the most detailed and complete seen in our sport and reflects a maturity as a coach that will lay the foundations for 2009," Smith said.

Smith said Kohlhase was one of two "very strong applicants" interviewed for the position.

- NZPA