Russell Simon Garcia (born 20 June 1970) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

coach and a former England & GB

player. He won a gold medal with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

at the age of 18 years 3 months, making him Britain's youngest ever Olympic champion.

International career

Garcia was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He played international hockey from 1988 to 2000 and was awarded his first cap aged 17. He was invited back into the British team in January 2004 to try and strengthen the squad preparing for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, being cut in the final selection period. He played over 300 games and scored more than 70 goals for England and Great Britain. In 1998 he was nominated by the

International Hockey Federation The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (English: International Hockey Federation), commonly known by the acronym and initialism, acronym FIH, is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey. Its headquarters are i ...

for World Best Player of the Year. Garcia also competed in the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He played club hockey in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Between 1998 and 2000 he played in Germany, where he won two league titles and one cup winners medal with

Harvestehuder THC Harvestehuder Tennis und Hockey-Club e. V., also known as Harvestehuder THC or simply HTHC, is a German professional sports club based in Winterhude, Hamburg. It is best known for its field hockey department but it also has tennis and lacrosse sec ...

. He represented

and won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the men's hockey, at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

in Kuala Lumpur.

Coaching career

Garcia is a very experienced hockey coach. Between 1993 and 1996 he was player coach at Real Club de Polo Barcelona. Between the ages of 23-26 he took his Spanish club team to two European Cup Winners tournaments, 1995 winning a bronze medal in Italy, and three cup finals (Copa del Rey). Between 1996 and 1998 Garcia played for HDM, a Dutch field hockey club based in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. During his time in the Netherlands he coached the youth under 18 boys team of Leiden to the national field playoffs and becoming national indoor champions. Garcia was appointed Head Coach of

HC Bloemendaal Hockey Club Bloemendaal (), commonly known as Bloemendaal, is a Dutch field hockey club based in Bloemendaal, North Holland. It was established on 26 April 1895, and is one of the oldest field hockey clubs in the Netherlands. Originally, the club a ...

in Netherlands between June 2012 – 2016. Bloemendaal won the European Hockey League in 2013 and came second in the Hoofdklasse in 2014. In July 2016 he was appointed Head Coach of Der Club an der Alster, Hamburg, Germany. At International level Garcia was Head Coached of the

Scotland men's national field hockey team The Scotland men's national field hockey team represents Scotland in men's international field hockey competitions, with the exception of the Olympic Games when Scottish players are eligible to play for the Great Britain men's national field hoc ...

between 2008 and 2011. He also worked as Assistant Coach for Holland, Germany, England and Great Britain. In 2018 Garcia helped England to 4th place at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

References

External links

*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Russell 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Portsmouth English male field hockey players English field hockey coaches English Olympic medallists Olympic field hockey players of Great Britain British male field hockey players Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Field hockey players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1998 Men's Hockey World Cup players English sportspeople in doping cases Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Place of birth missing (living people) Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey Real Club de Polo de Barcelona players Harvestehuder THC players Haagsche Delftsche Mixed players Expatriate field hockey players Havant Hockey Club players Field hockey players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup players