PHIL Frost has been named captain of the Australian over-50s team for the upcoming Masters Hockey World Cup.
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It will be the fifth time the WestVic Hockey senior women’s coach has contested the championships.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) sanctioned title will run in Rotterdam, Netherlands from June 5-18.
Frost was a member of the over-45s team for several years and is chasing a gold medal after already claiming bronze and silver at the titles.
“It’s pretty hot competition and it will be the first time the Netherlands have been in the FIH,” Frost said.
“They normally enter at open age level and not the masters, so they’ll be very strong.
“Arch rivals England are the other ones (to look out for) and we’re targeting a gold medal playoff – but I would say it will probably be against Netherlands.”
The open age world titles will run in The Hague at the same time as the masters championships and Frost believes the timing of the two has blessed Australia with an unprecedented level of depth across its divisions.
“We’ve been able to put the strongest contingent together that we’ve seen in 10 years,” he said.
Frost’s selection in the team was based on his performances in the 2103 Australian Championships held last October.
Meanwhile WestVic’s new senior men’s coach Nathan Burgess will take the reins for first time this Saturday.
Burgess says there is plenty talent to work with in the winless team.
“At this stage I haven’t set any goals with the players, I’m still learning who they are and how they play,” he said.
“They’ve got the skill and they’ve got the talent but they need to string at all together with cohesion as a team.
“My goal is the get them back being competitive, as they have been in previous years.”