Powell appointed as High Performance Director

England Touch has today announced Ben Powell as the Association’s new High Performance Director.

Powell has been one of the leading figures in both English and European Touch for a number of years. For since 2015 he has been European Federation of Touch President, a period which has seen the sport enjoy unprecedented growth across the continent, and a role from which he recently stepped down from.

As a player Powell represented England’s Men’s Open and Mixed Open teams and has contributed significantly to coaching development across the country, delivering over 50 coaching courses since 2013.

Powell has also played a key part in England Touch’s overall growth at the international level, firstly as Technical Director (2012-15) and latterly as England’s Lead Coach in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, working closely with the Head Coach, Head of Elite Performance, and Head of Elite Logistics to implement a High Performance programme to provide players with the framework and opportunity to realise their potential in Malaysia.

He will be combining the role of High Performance Director with that of England’s Women’s Open Head Coach for the 2019-23 cycle.

England Touch Chief Operating Officer Gregg Cropper says that Powell’s experience and expertise will be a strong asset as the country builds through a World Cup cycle which includes two European Touch Championships and a number of other international tournaments across a variety of categories.

“I’m delighted to have Ben back in the England Touch fold,” he said. “He has a massive amount of knowledge about the sport and we have every confidence in both his ability and dedication to helping us achieve our potential.

“I have worked with Ben on a number of projects over the past eight years, and his vision for an ever-improving High Performance programme is second-to-none.

“I’m looking forward to the next stage of our growth in this area, with Ben at the forefront.”

Powell says that this is an exciting time to be taking more of a hands-on role in England’s development on the international stage.

“England has achieved a massive amount over the past few years, and we are going from strength-to-strength,” he said.

“The standard of our players and coaches is getting better all the time, and Cari Thorpe has put together a medical, conditioning and sports science framework which is the envy of other National Touch Associations and is more akin to a professional club than a volunteer organisation.

“We have a large group of very dedicated individuals at all levels, and an ideal opportunity to not just develop at the highest level but also provide the inspiration for players to achieve their potential throughout the sport.”