Former Great Britain international hockey player Dan Coultas (pictured) is the new head coach at Watsonians,men’s first team, replacing ex-Scotland international skipper Mike Leonard.
Coultas, who has 71 senior Scotland caps and three senior Great Britain caps will be player coach at the Myreside-based team.
He explained: “I received a phone call from Mike a few weeks ago saying that he was stepping down and that he thought I would be a good fit for a replacement.
“It was a bit of a surprise phone call to be honest but, after having a few days to discuss with friends and family, I came to the decision that it would be a good move for me.
“With me already working at the school (George Watson’s College) and starting a PGCE in August, having all my work and hockey on one site would be a big help. This paired with just having moved house to South Edinburgh would help with travel too.”
Yorkshire-born Coultas revealed he had never planned to leave 2019 champions Grange at any point but when an opportunity such as this was offered it was hard not to take it.
He added: “I have thoroughly loved the past three seasons with Grange, both playing and coaching the junior section. They are a great club and one that I will have strong connections with forever.
“The new challenge with Watsonians is one that I am really looking forward to.”
And he stressed: “My aim coming in to the club is to try and secure Watsonians in the top league year after year and to avoid the yo-yo situation that has been the case in previous years.
“This will be challenging but by all means very achievable. Nearly all of Watsonians games this season have been very close and many only decided by a single goal.
“Looking forward to the coming season, the team has not lost any players and has added myself alongside Fraser Heigh coming back from a long time out with injury.
“I also hope to add a few more players to the squad over the summer to make up a competitive squad going into the season.
“The pre-season will look slightly different this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions, but we have a good physical preparation programme in place that will ensure we are ready to go when we are allowed back on the pitch.”
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