The head science teacher at Orange High has been appointed the NSW Pride coach for its upcoming 2021, a job he's excited to take on.

"I'm really excited, really proud, it's great," Shea sad.

I'm really pleased they've given me the opportunity to lead their senior women's program, the direction it will take and hopefully be involved in creating a culture of excellence."

He's always been a dedicated leader in the local competitions, but Shea didn't expect to ever take on a job so prolific.

"I never thought I'd get an opportunity to coach at this level, I didn't think I'd get another opportunity to work with the elite NSW hockey players," he said.

"So I'm just happy to have the chance to try and implement some of the things that I think we need to do in hockey, particularly female hockey, in Australia.

"I'm hoping people might start to notice that approach and take some of those things. If some of those are transferred to a higher level that would be a very proud moment for me."

Joining the program as the head coach is step one, but the next goal is ultimately to win games.

"NSW Hockey has traditionally had a lot of success, there's been a culture of success in the state teams. Recently, the men's program has had a lot of success at all levels but I'm not sure we can say the same about the women's program at the moment," Shea said.

"We haven't won a national tournament for a few years, we haven't been consistently at the top of the rankings at the national level so my goal is to try and create a culture that is a winning culture.

"That really has to be based on player welfare and empathy coming from the players' perspective, so I really want to see this team playing at the elite level but having it be enjoyable, high-quality and more than anything a good environment to be in."

Peter will join a panel of selectors at the Open Women's State Championships in June to appoint the 2021 NSW Pride squad.

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