Rob Short was born in 1972 in Maidstone, Kent, England. The family moved to Canada in 1973 and settled in Tsawwassen. Rob’s parents quickly decided that, despite Rob’s desire to play ice hockey, the culture of the sport was not quite what the English were used to and, instead, put Rob into field hockey with the Tsawwassen Falcons. (While field hockey was his main sport, Rob spent more time on street hockey, playing every day in his driveway with his brothers and friends. With two other very athletic brothers, the internal competition was fierce!)

Rob’s family had a huge impact on his life. Not only did they support his dreams financially, but with continued support and guidance he always felt motivated to impress his parents. Rob clearly knew when he had given his all. Now he has his own family, wife Rachel and sons Brek (two years) and Kaeden (2 months).

Rob moved to Victoria in 1991 to do his undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria, drawn by the UVic field hockey program. UVic had field hockey at a very competitive level and had Rob travelling extensively for training and matches.

Rob is the most decorated Canadian field hockey player in history. He was a member of the Men’s National Team from 1992 to 2013. His first Pan American Games was in 1995 and he made his first World Cup appearance in Utrecht, Netherlands in 1998. Upon his return to Canada, he received a phone call, asking if he wanted to play for HGC in The Hague. Rob went for one year, with the intention of returning to University to take up teaching. In the end, he spent 14 years playing professional field hockey. It really was his dream and it allowed him to continue playing for Canada until he was 39 years old.

Rob was Captain of the National Team from 2001 to 2008. In his career, he had 364 international caps, played for Canada at two Olympic Games (2000, 2008), two World Cups (1998, 2010), four Commonwealth Games, and five Pan American Games.

At the Pan American Games, in 1999 and 2007, the team won Gold, and in 1995, 2003 and 2011, they won the Silver medal. At the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games, Rob was excited to be joined by his younger brother Peter who played forward for the team. In 2011, Rob played in the Euro Hockey League (with the top teams from across Europe challenging for the title) and was named the MVP of the tournament after his team HGC won.

In 2018, Rob returned to Canada as the Canadian National Team Assistant Coach. While in the Netherlands, he earned his Master’s degree in International Coaching, and subsequently founded the Rob Short Coaching Academy in Vancouver. His high performance programnow helps young athletes achieve their goals and dreams in field hockey, just as Rob himself once did.

SPONSORED BY FIELD HOCKEY BC