Ric Charlesworth

About Ric

Richard (Ric) Charlesworth is one of the best-known hockey players and coaches in Australian hockey history and a much sought-after consultant, speaker and writer on sport and performance. Widely regarded as one of Australian sport’s greatest minds and one of its best coaches, he has shared his innovative coaching techniques with audiences worldwide and has written five books on coaching and team management.

An insightful keynote speaker, Ric shares his formula for establishing a winning culture. He believes the pitfalls of success must be identified and avoided, with the aim to develop a continuous learning culture in which change and improvement are the background beat. Ric speaks about how individuals must take responsibility for their own performances and how rewards come through constant application, discipline and hard work.

Ric is a Doctor of Medicine and a former captain of the Australian Hockey Team, the West Australian State Hockey Team and State Cricket Team. He has been a mentor coach to several national team coaches with the Australian Institute of Sport and a performance consultant with the Fremantle Football Club. He was also a Federal member of parliament for 10 years, before retiring to take up coaching for the Australian Women’s Hockey Team from 1993 until the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In 2009 Ric became the Head Coach of the Australian Men’s Hockey team, the Kookaburras, a position he held until 2014.

In four World Cups and three Olympic Games as coach of Australia Charlesworth’s teams won Gold on six occasions and once won bronze. They won eight out of nine Champions Trophy tournaments and two Commonwealth Games Gold medals… this is a record never equaled in the sport. Between 1994 and 2014 Charlesworth was ‘Coach of the Year’ eight times!

As a hockey player, Ric played 227 times for Australia between 1972 and 1988. He was selected for five Olympics and four World Cups, winning an Olympic silver medal in 1976 and World Cup gold in 1986. Between 1972 and 1980 he also played 1st Class cricket for Western Australia.

Given that in the last 60 years Australia has won five Hockey World Cups and four Olympic Gold Medals (nine in total), Ric’s involvement in seven of these as a coach or player is an extraordinary contribution to the sport.

Ric has received numerous awards including being named the Confederation of Australian Sport’s Coach of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2000, the Order of Australia in 1987, the Western Australia Citizen of the Year Award (2001), Western Australian Sportsman of the Year (1972, 1979, 1987), West Australian sports Champions of the Year Awards – Coach of the Year (1994-2000) and Australian Coaching Council Team Coach of the Year (1994, 1996-2000). At the end of 2008 Ric was inducted into the Hockey Australia inaugural Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was again named AIS Coach of the Year.