Developing Plymouth’s Talented Hockey Players of the Future
Jamie Oxley January 2004
The following information below outlines the proposed establishment of a Hockey Centre of
Excellence in Plymouth. In order to proceed with this proposal it is important to gain the
support of the schools in Plymouth.
A great deal has been written about the Long Term Athlete Development process over the past
few years. The proposed new centre in Plymouth to develop talented Hockey players will focus
on the two stages of the LTAD cycle established by Istvan Balyi. (Learning to Train &
Training to Train).
Programme
Boys and Girls in schools years 6, 7, 8 & 9 selected to attend a 6 week coaching centre.
The centre will focus on core skill development, athletic development specifically designed
to meet the needs of the players. All players will receive individual feed back with
careful liaison with parents, teachers and club coaches. The programme will not only enhance
players hockey skills but also their all round athletic ability.
Download a full programme here (75Kb) or a
single-sheet summary here (48Kb).
Information for players and parents can be downloaded here (60Kb).
Documents are in Microsoft Word format.
Selection – February & March
Year 6 – The players will be selected through the Primary Coaching partnership scheme run by
the School and Community Development Coordinator Simon Fenwick.
Years 7, 8, 9 – Each school will be invited to hold a Talent Identification Session in
partnership with the PHDG. A specific programme will be provided for the schools to follow
in order to ensure continuity across the City. An external coach will be available to visit
schools to help run the programme and assess the pupils.
The aim is to select 100 boys and girls to attend the centre of excellence which will be
based at Marjons on a Monday night in April and May.
Dates & Times
Year 6 & 7 - 5.00pm – 6.30pm
Year 8 & 9 – 6.30pm – 8.00pm
April 19th & 26th
May 5th(Wed), 10th, 17th, 24th
Finale
A final session is planned in June for secondary school pupils to attend. The date is
Friday June 11th (9.30 – 3pm) held at Brickfields. Former GB player and England coach
is set to visit to lead the session.
