Mulder & Pasarakonda Appointed Interim U.S. Men’s National Team Coaches

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Jason Mulder and Aditya Pasarakonda have been appointed by USA Field Hockey as the interim coaches of the U.S. Men’s National Team and will lead the program through July 2024. This follows the resignation of Harry Singh.

Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Mulder began his coaching career in 2009 at Central Hockey Club. After that, he was a volunteer assistant at Syracuse, Bryant and Maryland before heading to Towson in 2019. From 2019 to 2022, he was a full-time assistant coach for the Tigers, where he helped lead the program to the most wins since 2011.

Mulder was named the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Indoor Team in April 2021. He kicked off his tenure by leading the squad to a second-place finish and securing World Cup qualification at the 2021 Indoor Pan American Cup. At the 2023 FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup, Mulder’s team garnered fourth – the highest finish ever for the Wolves at the event. The historic performance propelled USA to a No. 9 world ranking.

At the recent 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup, the team finished third under Mulder’s leadership, defeating Guyana 5-4 in the bronze medal match. The squad narrowly missed World Cup qualification after falling 5-4 to a tough Trinidad and Tobago team in the crossover match, after taking a 4-3 victory in pool play. Mulder recently stepped down at the helm of the Indoor USMNT program.

“I’m honored to accept this role and look forward to my time with the outdoor team,” said Mulder. “Transitions provide a new challenge for any group and I look forward to working with the team to make the most out of this period.”

Pasarakonda aided Mulder during the historic fourth place 2023 FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup run and at the recent 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup.

A constant assistant coach for the Germany Men’s National Team, Pasarakonda has been on the sidelines for many prominent events. These include 2017 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals, where the team finished second; 2017 Rabo EuroHockey Championship; 2017 Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final; 2018 Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup; Belfius EuroHockey Championship; 2019 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier; and 2022 EuroHockey Indoor Championship, earning second.

He was the video technician during the 2019, 2020-21 and 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro league, 2021 EuroHockey Championship and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and stand-in manager at the 2018 Indoor Hockey World Cup.

“I am really looking forward to supporting the USMNT together with Jason,” commented Pasarakonda. “I have enjoyed working with the indoor team in the last two indoor season therefore it was a no brainer to step in this transition phase to support the players and the team. I am sure the process Jason and I started with the indoor team will benefit the outdoor team in future."

Mulder and Pasarakonda will lead the USMNT through the summer including the Open Trial and training camp, and games against Canada, all in Charlotte, N.C.