Ben Powell to step down as High Performance Director with the England Touch Association

Ben Powell is stepping away from his role as England Touch's High Performance (HP) Director.

Ben has played an important part in the growth of England Touch for over 13 years. As HP Director he oversaw a programme which achieved unprecedented expansion and successes over the last five years. This has included a 100% increase in athletes involved in High Performance and 10 podium finishes at the 2024 Touch World Cup out of 13 categories, and where Ben was Head Coach of the medal winning Women’s Open team.

More recently, England Touch has overhauled its Youth Programme by establishing a Youth Academy of over 200 Athletes. And this past summer England entered 28 teams across the Atlantic Youth Touch Cup, European Seniors Touch Cup and European Opens Touch Cup.

Ben will now be rekindling his coaching and support the Performance Team in this period of change as well as re-writing England Touch’s coaching courses, channelling years of knowledge and providing new and experienced coaches alike with insight into international trends.

Tim Loveridge, Chair of the England Touch Association, said: "We are hugely grateful to Ben for his contribution both as a Board Director and more latterly in his role in the High Performance programme.

"He has led some significant changes during this time and enabled our England teams to compete well on the international stage. I am sure Ben will continue to share his expertise and knowledge with us in the coming years."

Ben added: "I am grateful to have volunteered and witnessed the dedication and commitment of our athletes, coaches, physiotherapists, team managers, sports psychologists, analysts, and the High Performance panel over many years.

"It has been a huge privilege to serve as High Performance Director and play a small part in our growth and success, and I have no doubt that England Touch will continue to reach new heights and set even higher standards on the international stage."