Talent System Overview
England Hockey has ambitions to broaden and deepen the talent pool and to do so it is vitally important that we embed a non-linear talent system that creates more opportunities for progression via multiple routes. A fluid system that places the player at the heart is fundamental by recognising that talent develops at different rates and each individual journey is unique. England Hockey are therefore pleased to communicate information regarding the nomination process for players into Talent Academies moving forwards that aligns to this ambition.
Nomination Process
The nomination process is a 3-step process that will enable nominated players to access open assessment opportunities within the Talent Academy catchment area that they reside in. This process aligns with the Talent Academy Player Identification & Selection Guidance which you can find within the documents and downloads section on this page.
Step 1 – Talent Academy Open Assessment Opportunities
During an annual cycle each Talent Academy will add details of upcoming open assessment opportunities via a separate form which populates a map. This map outlining Talent Academy identification events can be found within the external links section of this page.
Open assessment opportunities are not to clash with centralised calendar dates.
Step 2 – Coach Nomination
As with previous nomination processes, players need to be nominated by a coach / teacher from a school, club and or county hockey environment to attend an open assessment opportunity. Coaches can nominate players by submitting the player nomination form.
Please note Talent Academies are intended for high potential players who will be entering school years 10, 11, 12 and 13 at the start of the following annual cycle. Nominations are submitted with the understanding a player is being put forward, where successful, to join the Talent Academy squad for the following annual cycle. (Only in exceptional circumstances or where space allows players who are identified during the cycle will be able to access provision).
Following a player being nominated, they will be automatically informed of their nomination and will receive an email inviting them to register for an open assessment opportunity. Primarily this will be an event located within the Talent Academy catchment area that their nearest club resides in (if you are unsure of which catchment area you reside in, please refer to the Talent Academy Club Mapping resource within the external links section). If for geographical, logistical or personal circumstances a nominated player would like to attend an open assessment opportunity in a different catchment area they can indicate this when completing registration.
Once registration has been completed the Talent Academy will make contact with any final information. If you would like to contact your local Talent Academy please click here for relevant contact details.
At each step of the process coaches and parents / players receive confirmation regarding the information they have submitted.
England Hockey recognise selection can be a challenging experience for some young players. Therefore, please see the resource by the University of Alberta, Canada (in the documents and downloads section), which offers some useful tips to coaches, players and parents to help ease the pain and promote positive athlete development.
Talent Academy Nominations are now open.
To find out more about the Talent Academies Player Identification and Selection Guidelines, please visit the documents and downloads section.
