St Albans Hockey Club have appointed Martin Scanlon as their head coach for the 2015/16 season.

Scanlon represented England at all junior levels, was selected for the 2009 Junior World Cup and played for Great Britain Under-21s 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 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.

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 the club in 2013/14 and for Preston at the end of the 2014/15 season.

He intends to train and play with the first-team squad next season.

Scanlon was guest coach at the youth masterclass in September. He will take on coaching sessions for senior club members and juniors and will work with other coaches to co-ordinate coaching for all the club’s teams.

Alongside his head coach role, he will be a link between the club and local schools and will be senior coach for junior hockey camps.