St Albans Hockey Club has announced the appointment of Martin Scanlon as club head coach for the 2015/2016 season.

Scanlon represented England at all junior levels, was selected for the 2009 Junior World Cup and played for Great Britain U21s during the 2009 Youth Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

He has a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Loughborough University and is a Level Two qualified coach. His previous clubs include Loughborough Students and Beeston Hockey Club where he played three seasons in the EuroHockey League and won the English Premier League twice before being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

His circumstances have raised awareness and funding for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research through the #score4scan campaign (www.justgiving.com/samward15).

Scanlon’s last match before starting treatment was winning the England Hockey cup final 2012 with Beeston. He was able to return to play for Beeston in 2013/14 and for Preston Hockey Club at the end of the 2014/15 season. For 2015/16 he intends to train and play with the SAHC Men’s 1st XI squad.

Scanlon was guest coach at the SAHC Youth Masterclass in September 2014. He will take on coaching sessions for senior club members and juniors and will work with other coaches to coordinate coaching for all the club’s teams. Alongside his club head coach role, he will be a link between the club and local schools and will be senior coach for junior hockey camps.