Colin Batch draws on Olympic history for delayed Games
Published Sat 24 Jul 2021
When it comes to the Olympic Games, Kookaburras coach Colin Batch knows a thing or two about uncertainty.
As an athlete, his Olympic debut for the men’s hockey team was thwarted in 1980 when Australia missed the Moscow Games in support of the US-led boycott protesting the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Despite the setback, he went on to represent Australia at the 1984 and 1988 Games and has been to another four Games in a coaching role; the highlight being gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008 as an Assistant Coach with the Kookaburras.
Reflecting on his own journey, Batch says his uncertain start in the sport at an Olympic level gave him a better insight into how his players felt when the Games were postponed last year.
“I’d just made the Australian team and hadn’t been in there for 12 months, so it was all new to me,’’ he remembers.
