It is with great pleasure to finally announce that our very own Jay Holmes has taken over the role of Head Coach for Team UK from his predecessor, James ‘JT’ Thanangadan.
Jay has been an irreplaceable part of Team UK since his coaching debut for the national team in 2017, during the European Games in Oslo bringing the gold home. Previously to this, Jay had assisted in the creation of the previously named ‘Development Squad’ (now called: Expansion Squad) at the beginning of the 2016 season, continuing to develop Team UK’s future talent.
The new head coach is no stranger to winning throughout the regular season, as part of Velociraptors Quidditch Club. Over the last two seasons under Jay captaining the team, the Raptors have achieved a podium finish in every major tournament within the UK.
Ahead of this announcement, Jay had this to say in regards to the future of Team UK:
“It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to be appointed as the Team UK Head Coach, getting to this position has been my goal in quidditch for the past four years and to finally accomplish this goals feels amazing. Having worked my way from the bottom rung of the ladder with coaching to now be at the apex feels incredible and I am humbled by the continued faith and belief from the community and those involved in the Team UK set up. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me along this journey so far.
I am looking forward to continuing the great work we have been doing in Team UK and building on our past successes and making improvements where we need them. The team has eyes on the gold medal when we travel for Richmond for the Quidditch World Cup and I will put all my efforts into making this possible.
I am hoping to make Team UK more accessible for our community and have a wide range of plans to ensure that we are all involved in the success of our nation.
Thank you all so much for your continued support and I can’t wait to see the brilliant results Team UK can create.”
Congratulations to you, Jay. We also extend our congratulations to the current athletes at Team UK for banking a fantastically proactive Head Coach for the future. We’ll be behind you every step of the way in Team UK’s journey to the World Cup in Richmond, Virginia (USA) next summer.