The Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF) in association with the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) is pleased to announce the visit of Ignacio Bergner, High-Performance International Field Hockey Coach from Argentina and Belgium.  

Coach Ignacio is a past senior and junior national representative for Argentina (2006 – 2014).  He was Assistant Coach to the Belgium U21 (2015 – 2018) team that finished second at the Junior World Cup in Lucknow, India.  Coach Ignacio is a certified International Hockey Federation (FIH) Level 3 coach.

Coach Ignacio has three main objectives on his first visit to the island.  Working with Dr. Michelle Holt, Junior Development Champion, Coach Ignacio will conduct interactive and highly stimulating practical sessions with a selected group of Junior Coaches.  These coaches were selected as a part of an expedited Junior Coaching Apprenticeship Program recently introduced by the Jamaica Hockey Federation.

The program aims to expedite and to expose high-level training to a cadre of young coaches in order to increase our international competitiveness starting at the junior level.   Secondly, he will be participating in the Fundamentals of Coaching session at the G C Foster College aimed at familiarizing physical education teachers with field hockey development skills.

The knowledge gained through the course is expected to be applied islandwide through various hockey initiatives.   Finally, he will be working with many young players and school coaches to demonstrate specific technical skills, especially penalty corners.