Talent Academy Squad Coaches

We are looking for four experienced and ambitious coaches to join our Talent Academy coaching team for the 2026/27 season:

• Emerging Girls Squad Coach
• Aspiring Girls Squad Coach
• Emerging Boys Squad Coach
• Aspiring Boys Squad Coach

This is an exciting opportunity to take real responsibility for developing talented young players while progressing your own coaching career within the England Hockey Talent System.

You will work closely with an experienced coaching leadership team, with the opportunity to learn from established England and international-level coaches.

The role

Each Squad Coach will take responsibility for one Talent Academy squad, working under the direction of the relevant Lead Coach and Technical Director.

You will:

• Under the direction of the Lead Coach plan and deliver high-quality segments of the Academy program.
• Contribute to the building of a positive, ambitious and inclusive squad culture.
• Take responsibility for individual player development.
• Use video and performance analysis to support development.
• Contribute significantly to player assessment and selection.
• Work in conjunction with the Lead Coach to develop the squads’ principles and style of play.
• Work in conjunction with the Lead Coach during fixtures to develop tactical understanding with the players.
• Work closely with goalkeeper and wider coaching staff.
• Provide regular feedback and support to individual players.

Above all, we want coaches who are passionate about developing individual players, not simply coaching a team.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for coaches with a strong coaching foundation who are highly ambitious to develop their own coaching careers.

Applicants must hold an England Hockey Level 2 coaching qualification or above, or a recognised equivalent.

Ideally, applicants will have:

• Experience playing or coaching at an elite level.
• Experience working with talented or performance-focused players.
• Confidence leading sessions and taking responsibility for players.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• A genuine interest in individual player development.
• An open, reflective and collaborative coaching approach.
• Ambition to progress within performance and talent coaching.
• Hold, or be willing and eligible to obtain, the appropriate DBS clearance required for the role before undertaking regulated Talent Academy activity.
• Complete and maintain all England Hockey / Talent Academy safeguarding requirements and training.
• Demonstrate a clear commitment to the safeguarding, welfare and appropriate care of young people.

We are looking for people who can contribute immediately, but who are equally excited about learning, being challenged and developing as coaches.

Programme format

For 2026/27 we are moving away from a programme based predominantly around two-hour Monday evening sessions in Bury St Edmunds towards a more camp-based delivery model.

This will mean fewer visits to Bury St Edmunds, but longer coaching days, alongside fixtures and selected training sessions.

We are also introducing separate Emerging and Aspiring squads for both Boys and Girls, rather than operating a single squad across the full Talent Academy age range. This will allow coaching and player development to be better tailored to different stages of the talent pathway, while maintaining clear progression between the two groups.

We hope this new format will make the roles considerably more accessible to ambitious coaches travelling from further afield, who may previously have found a weekly Monday evening commitment impractical.

Commitment

This is a significant coaching commitment. We expect coaches to commit fully to the programme and make Talent Academy activity one of their priorities.  We recognise that occasional unavoidable conflicts may arise, but applicants should expect to attend the full programme wherever possible.

We expect every Coach to make an active and ongoing commitment to their own personal and professional development.