Hockey India on Thursday, 14 May appointed Frederic Soyez, a decorated French coach with over three decades of elite hockey experience, as the head coach of the Indian junior men's hockey team. The appointment is part of Hockey India's long-term strategy to build a sustainable high-performance pipeline ahead of the 2036 Olympics.

Who Is Frederic Soyez

Soyez brings an exceptional dual pedigree — first as a player, then as a coach. He represented France as an international player from 1995 to 2010, earning 196 international caps and scoring 195 goals. After retiring from playing, he transitioned into coaching at the highest levels of world hockey, accumulating over 15 years of head coaching experience across national programmes.

His coaching career has spanned the national men's teams of both France and Spain, giving him rare cross-programme perspective at the international level. He also served as the High-Performance Director of the French Hockey Federation from 2021 to 2024, overseeing athlete development and high-performance structures for the entire French hockey ecosystem.

Key Achievements on the Coaching Resume

Soyez has guided teams at three Olympic Games — leading Spain at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and France at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Under his tenure, Spain claimed a silver medal at the 2019 European Championships and reached the quarter-finals at both Rio and Tokyo.

At the junior level, he coached France to a historic silver medal at the FIH Junior Men's World Cup in Delhi in 2013 — a result that speaks directly to his credentials for the role he now takes on. Most recently, he guided the French U18 Men's Team to a silver medal at the 2025 European Championships. His resume also includes participation in two FIH Men's Hockey World Cups (2018, 2023) and six European Championships (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023). At club level, he led Lille MHC to French Indoor and Outdoor Championship titles in 2012, along with EuroHockey Trophy Indoor and Outdoor titles in the same year.

Succeeding a Hockey Legend

Soyez will succeed P.R. Sreejesh, the Indian goalkeeping stalwart whose coaching contract concluded in December 2025. Sreejesh's tenure was widely regarded as a significant chapter in Indian junior hockey, making the transition a closely watched one within the sport.

What Hockey India Said

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey welcomed the appointment, stating, 'Frederic comes with outstanding international credentials, having coached at multiple Olympic Games, World Cups, and European Championships, while also successfully developing young talent and high-performance systems. We believe his experience and skill set will greatly benefit Indian hockey as we continue to work towards a bigger long-term vision for the 2036 Olympics.'

Tirkey also underlined the federation's integrated coaching philosophy: 'Our focus is not only on immediate results but also on building a deep talent pool and a coaching structure that remain aligned from sub-junior to senior level.'

Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh added that Soyez's 'track record in building competitive international teams and nurturing young athletes makes him an excellent addition to our setup.'

The Broader Vision

Hockey India noted that Soyez's appointment aligns with the Government of India's objective of building sustained Olympic success and sporting self-reliance ahead of 2036. As part of this structure, Indian coaches have been integrated across senior, junior, and sub-junior national camps, working alongside international head coaches at every level — a model designed to ensure knowledge transfer, continuity of playing philosophy, and long-term coaching self-sufficiency. The federation believes this collaborative framework will deepen India's talent pool across age groups in the years leading up to the home Olympics.