Ben Powell appointed as England Touch High Performance Lead Coach

Ben Powell has been appointed High Performance Lead Coach for the forthcoming World Cup training cycle.

Powell has a wealth of experience within Touch, both as a player who represented England at multiple European Touch Championships and the 2015 World Cup, as a Technical Director who played an important role in the growth of coaching courses and the Touch Nationals, and as a coach with multiple England national teams and regions.

This new role of Lead Coach will see Powell assist the England team coaches in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, building on the success and momentum of the successes of the recent European Touch Championships.

England Touch Chief Operating Officer Gregg Cropper says that Powell will provide invaluable support ahead of next April’s tournament in Malaysia.

“Ben’s experience and depth of knowledge is extensive and he will add real value in upskilling coaches,” he said. “He has been a big part of the development of England Touch over many years and he will work with the rest of the High Performance team on selection pathways, strategies and coaching workshops.

“It is essential that we are up-to-speed with cutting edge trends and coaching, and Ben’s support will be vital in this area, too.”

Powell is looking forward to helping the England national teams’ effort to improve on their third-place finish in 2015.

“It’s really exciting to be coming into the High Performance team as we build towards the World Cup, and it’s a real honour for me,” he said. “I’ll be working with the coaches and players on everything from basic skills to tactical awareness and supporting those coaches in what they’re trying to achieve.

“In England we set ourselves high targets and objectives and we succeeded on all almost all fronts at the European Touch Championships, where the teams delivered on the field. That makes my job all the more enjoyable coming in, where I’m going to be working in a strong National Touch Association.”