Rockhampton’s Lisa Morgan Hockey Queensland’s High Performance Coach of the Year

Lisa Morgan received a major gong from Hockey Queensland after an impressive year. See what she has her sights set on next.

Rockhampton's Lisa Morgan won Hockey Queensland's High Performance Coach of the Year for 2022.

Rockhampton’s Lisa Morgan is looking to secure a national coaching role next year after a stellar 2022 season.

She returned to the hockey scene in a big way in 2022 after a two-year absence due to work commitments.

She was named Hockey Queensland’s High Performance Coach of the Year after taking the Queensland under-18 girls and the Queensland Masters over-34 women to national titles.

“I was really happy,” she said of the honour.

“It was a surprise but it was really nice because I hadn’t done anything with Hockey Queensland for the past couple of years.

“Next year I’m keen to take on new challenges with Hockey Queensland and maybe look at a coaching role within Hockey Australia somewhere.

Coach Lisa Morgan with the Queensland Masters over-34 women's team that won the national title.

“The Masters World Cup in 2024 is something I will look at initially and then I’ll look at some opportunities in the youth age groups.”

The two state teams Morgan coached went through their respective championships unbeaten to win gold.

It was an impressive feat for the under-18s, a development team which beat their more experienced Queensland counterparts in the grand final.

Morgan said that belief was the cornerstone of her coaching.

“It’s about instilling self-belief in the girls first of all; if you show belief in them they seem to grow in stature,” she said.

“And then it’s about them believing in you as a coach, that what you say is right and then them going out there and doing exactly what you ask them to do.”

Lisa Morgan had a busy year in 2022.

Morgan has been recognised for her efforts as a state coach before.

In 2017, she won Hockey Queensland’s Coach of the Year for both indoor and outdoor.

She made a “serious” move into coaching at age 30 after enjoying success in both formats of the game as a player.

She was a member of the Australian under-21 outdoor squad and represented her country in the first indoor World Cup in 2003.

As well as her state coaching commitments, Morgan was heavily involved in local and representative hockey in Central Queensland as well.

She coached the under-5s in the Rockhampton Hockey Association, and guided Southern Suburbs to victory in the A-grade women’s competition.

Lisa Morgan coached the Southern Suburbs women to the Rockhampton Hockey A-grade premiership this year.

She was also at the helm of the Rockhampton Masters women’s team and the combined Rockhampton/Gladstone open women’s team, and coached the Rockhampton under-18 girls despite not attending their state championships.

Morgan is keen to continue nurturing new and existing hockey talent in the city.

She said there was plenty of talent in the ranks, which was reflected in the regular selection of locals in state teams.

She also said Queensland hockey stocks were “looking very good” across the board.

“We’re definitely doing something right,” she said.