Cardiff Fire are delighted to announce that Elis Sheppard will be returning to the line-up and will continue in his role as Player-Coach for the 2024/25 season.
Elis joined the Fire Family from Slough Jets in 2015 as an 18-year-old, winning the league with Fire in his first two seasons and picking up young player of the year. In 2019 Elis was made captain of the Fire and started to work closely with the coaching staff. In 2021 Elis became player/assistant coach to Mark Cuddihy with Cuddihy handing over the head coach role to Elis for the 2022/23 season.
Director of Hockey Mark Cuddihy added:
I’m delighted to have Elis back on the coaching team and on the ice for next season. As a player Elis had a great year being solid at the back and chipping in offensively with a point a game.
On the coaching front you could really see the development of the team throughout last season. We didn’t have the start we wanted and were quite unlucky in some games, but heads didn’t drop and we continued to grow each game leading to a very strong finish to the season. The development of the younger players was great to see through the season also. Lots of young players were given the chance to play key minutes last season and that’s what we have always been about in Cardiff.
Shep will begin his 9th season with the club. Since joining from Slough straight out of junior hockey, he’s filled every role from rookie to captain and now coaching. A fantastic servant to Fire. I am delighted he is going to continue in his role for the upcoming season.
Head Coach Elis Sheppard said:
I am delighted to be back as Head Coach of the Cardiff Fire for the 2024/25 season. For me, last year was a much more seamless transition from captain to coach, with more experience gained from the role.
I felt as though last season was a huge stride in the ultimate goal of the club; which is to provide a clear pathway for junior players looking to progress into senior hockey. This season will contribute to further development of the team as individual hockey players but within the team dynamic.
I’m excited to be given the opportunity to further grow my application of my coaching whilst still being able to wear the jersey.
Everyone at the Cardiff Fire would like to give a warm welcome back to Coach Shep! #FireFamily
Photos/Video: James Assinder
