Assessment for England Age Group squads includes the following routes:
- Players from a current or previous England Age Group programme may be invited to assessment, based on our insight from the previous programme.
- Players who are members of a Talent Academy will have the opportunity to be selected for the Talent Academy Cup, where scouts and EAG coaches will be in attendance. Selected players will be invited for further assessment in September.
- Current England Age Group players who are selected to participate in the England Age Group summer international competitions will not be eligible for the Talent Academy Cup; their route for nomination will be based on insight from the previous programme. Current England Age Group players who are affiliated to a Talent Academy and are not selected for summer international matches or competitions may be eligible to participate in the Talent Academy Cup, if agreed by their England Age Group Head Coach.
- Players who are not members of a Talent Academy may be put forward for an evidence-based Open Nomination by an England Hockey affiliated club, school or county coach. The nomination process will open in April and will be advertised on the England Hockey website and social media channels.
- Players taken forward from Open Nominations will be invited to attend Open Trials on 26 July at Lilleshall National Sports Centre and 1 August at Nottingham Hockey Centre. Players will receive direct communication once the nomination window has closed.
- The England Age Group selection policy can be found here.
Entry And Exit Points
The England Age Group Programme traditionally begins in September. The first part of the programme is an assessment period, before final training squads are announced and these players are considered for matches and competition throughout the remainder of the programme.
Players who are no longer eligible for U18 England activity as they are too old may be nominated for the England U21 programme by the England U18 coaches. Players outside of the England Age Group programme may be nominated for England U21 assessment by their National League clubs as part of an invitation process that takes place annually.
