Senior Joins Field Hockey Coaching Staff
8/31/2026 2:27:00 PM | Field Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Ben Senior, an internationally experienced coach who most recently led talent identification efforts for the Paralympic pathway at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS), has joined the Syracuse field hockey program as an assistant coach, head coach Lynn Farquhar announced on Monday.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Ben to Syracuse," said Farquhar, now in her fourth season guiding the Orange. "He immediately emerged as a coach whose experience, character, and approach made him an outstanding fit for our program and community.
"His extensive high-performance background immediately made him stand out, but more importantly, he's someone who invests deeply in people," continued Faruqhar. "Ben brings the ability to maximize the potential of every individual while building a connected, team-enhancing culture. His leadership will help our student-athletes grow, compete, and succeed together - as champions."
Senior arrives at Syracuse after a decade at NSWIS, one of Australia's premier high-performance sporting institutes, where he most recently served as Lead Transition Coach for the newly created Para Unit beginning in July 2025. In that role, he built a talent identification and transfer program spanning 14 sports and helped athletes progress along the pathway toward the Paralympics.
Prior to that assignment, Senior spent close to nine years with the NSWIS women's hockey program, being elevated to Head Coach in April 2021 after serving as an assistant since January 2016. He led the program through December 2024, advancing six athletes into Australia's National Program, two of whom went on to make their Olympic debuts at the 2024 Paris Games. Under his direction, 90 percent of NSWIS athletes met or exceeded Hockey Australia's physical performance standards, and the program saw a significant reduction in soft-tissue injuries after Senior overhauled its pre-training protocols.
"I am very excited about joining the Syracuse women's field hockey program," said Senior. "I am looking forward to contributing to the program supporting and developing the athletes and helping the team achieve success."
Senior's coaching résumé extends to the international stage. He served as an assistant coach with the Hockeyroos, Australia's senior women's national team, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Pro League stop in Sydney, where he was the program's lead video analyst on China and provided opponent scouting and match analysis on South Africa, England, Germany and the Netherlands. He also spent time as an assistant coach with Hockey Australia's Women's Junior National Team during the 2019 Jillaroos Tri Series against New Zealand and India.
At the state level, Senior guided the NSW Under-21 women's team to gold and bronze medals in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and coached NSW Pride to a fifth-place finish in 2019 and fourth in 2023. He was an assistant coach for NSW's Arrows in the Australian Hockey League from 2015-18, helping the program to one gold and three bronze medals, and led the NSW Under-18 women's state team to a silver medal in 2014 and a fourth-place finish in 2015. Earlier in his career, Senior led Hockey Queensland's Under-21 men's indoor team to a silver medal in 2013 and Hockey WA's Under-21 men's team to gold in 2011 and silver in 2012.
Senior holds an FIH Level 4 coaching qualification and is working toward his HPC Level 5, in addition to an Advanced Level 3 certification from Hockey Australia. He earned a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Sport & Exercise Science from the University of Worcester in England and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Ben to Syracuse," said Farquhar, now in her fourth season guiding the Orange. "He immediately emerged as a coach whose experience, character, and approach made him an outstanding fit for our program and community.
"His extensive high-performance background immediately made him stand out, but more importantly, he's someone who invests deeply in people," continued Faruqhar. "Ben brings the ability to maximize the potential of every individual while building a connected, team-enhancing culture. His leadership will help our student-athletes grow, compete, and succeed together - as champions."
Senior arrives at Syracuse after a decade at NSWIS, one of Australia's premier high-performance sporting institutes, where he most recently served as Lead Transition Coach for the newly created Para Unit beginning in July 2025. In that role, he built a talent identification and transfer program spanning 14 sports and helped athletes progress along the pathway toward the Paralympics.
Prior to that assignment, Senior spent close to nine years with the NSWIS women's hockey program, being elevated to Head Coach in April 2021 after serving as an assistant since January 2016. He led the program through December 2024, advancing six athletes into Australia's National Program, two of whom went on to make their Olympic debuts at the 2024 Paris Games. Under his direction, 90 percent of NSWIS athletes met or exceeded Hockey Australia's physical performance standards, and the program saw a significant reduction in soft-tissue injuries after Senior overhauled its pre-training protocols.
"I am very excited about joining the Syracuse women's field hockey program," said Senior. "I am looking forward to contributing to the program supporting and developing the athletes and helping the team achieve success."
Senior's coaching résumé extends to the international stage. He served as an assistant coach with the Hockeyroos, Australia's senior women's national team, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Pro League stop in Sydney, where he was the program's lead video analyst on China and provided opponent scouting and match analysis on South Africa, England, Germany and the Netherlands. He also spent time as an assistant coach with Hockey Australia's Women's Junior National Team during the 2019 Jillaroos Tri Series against New Zealand and India.
At the state level, Senior guided the NSW Under-21 women's team to gold and bronze medals in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and coached NSW Pride to a fifth-place finish in 2019 and fourth in 2023. He was an assistant coach for NSW's Arrows in the Australian Hockey League from 2015-18, helping the program to one gold and three bronze medals, and led the NSW Under-18 women's state team to a silver medal in 2014 and a fourth-place finish in 2015. Earlier in his career, Senior led Hockey Queensland's Under-21 men's indoor team to a silver medal in 2013 and Hockey WA's Under-21 men's team to gold in 2011 and silver in 2012.
Senior holds an FIH Level 4 coaching qualification and is working toward his HPC Level 5, in addition to an Advanced Level 3 certification from Hockey Australia. He earned a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Sport & Exercise Science from the University of Worcester in England and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.
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