Canberra Chill High Performance Director Announcement

The Canberra Chill are excited to announce Matt Cook as the new High-Performance Director.

Matt “Cookie” Cook was previously the Head Coach for the Canberra Chill Women’s Team. He is excited to transition into a new role as the High-Performance Director of the Canberra Chill.

The High-Performance Director is responsible for formulating and leading the overall Chill program in collaboration with the Men’s and Women’s Head Coaches. Matt will continue to build and evolve the Canberra Chill culture and program while ensuring the Chill remain connected to its Lakers and Strikers roots.

Having previously led the Canberra Chill Women’s program, Matt has a strong understanding of the Hockey One League and what it takes to be successful.  Leading the Chill Women to a Silver medal in 2023 and having supported the Mens program in the final’s series in 2024, where the team also won a silver medal, Matt is excited to continue to build both programs moving forward.

After sitting down with Matt and talking about the new opportunity, he is excited to remain connected with the Chill program after being a part of the franchise for the last 2 and half years. Matt thoroughly enjoyed his time as Head Coach of the Chill Women and is looking forward to working with both the men’s and women’s programs to build a stronger foundation for sustained success.

Matt shared some insight into what he thinks is important while navigating a High-Performance journey:

·       “High Performance habits have to be holistic – give time, effort and energy into different aspects of your High-Performance skillset e.g. S&C, Technical and Tactical, Nutrition and High-Performance Mindset. These are all important pillars that require time for growth”.

·       “Don’t lose sight of what your strengths are. Often, we can focus on areas for growth and areas to improve on, however continuing to build your strengths into superpowers can result in a more impactful performance”.

·       “Make sure you enjoy the journey. Ultimately when most athletes start their sporting journey, their endeavors are largely focused on enjoyment. Along the journey of High Performance, it’s important to maintain a level of enjoyment and fun even when external pressures and stresses are present”.

Moving into the role, Matt is looking forward to confirming and announcing the 2025 Canberra Chill Head Coaches and starting the recruitment process for assisting staff and international players. He is eager to build a strong program plan and positive culture within the organisation, while continuing to build on the strong relationships within Hockey ACT, ACTAS and Hockey Australia.

Further to the High Performance Director role, Matt will be a part of the Hockeyroos Team in an Assistant Coach role for the upcoming Pro League.  He is grateful and excited to join the Hockeyroos and is looking forward to bringing back plenty of learnings from the tour to enhance the Chill program.  

Stay tuned for more exciting Canberra Chill announcements in the coming weeks.