Nominations For Talent Academy Open Trials 2022 Closes Friday

Talent System Overview

England Hockey has ambitions to broaden and deepen the talent pool and to do so it is vitally important that we move to 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. See Appendix 1 for Talent System Structure.

From September 2022 there will be a network of 17 Talent Academies around the country to support high potential players aged 15-18 years. These will be embedded within club environments to provide regular, quality contact time throughout the year alongside appropriate ‘stretch’ opportunities through adult and junior hockey simultaneously. We expect around 500 players per gender will be supported in a Talent Academy environment. In this first year, there will be some England Hockey led Talent Academy provision in geographical areas not yet serviced by a club. 

Talent Academy Open Trials 

• In May 2022 club, schools and county academy coaches will be invited to nominate players for Talent Academy Open Trials. 
• Once the nomination window has closed, England Hockey will allocate nominees to a specific Talent Academy based on their existing club membership and home postcode.
• After the initial trials have taken place Talent Academies will continue to assess players from which to select a squad of up to 25 players per gender to attend Talent Academy sessions and represent the academy in Talent Academy competition. Talent Academy squads should be determined by the end of September.

Timeline

Nominations for Talent Academy open trials will open on 20 May 2022 and close at 17:00hrs on 24 June 2022 To nominate a player, coaches must complete a Talent Profiling Form, further information and access to the form can be found here.