In September 2022 Talent Academies take over the Performance Centres. This is the start of an exciting development to The England Hockey Player Pathway. 

Click to read more about the new Talent System. Through this model England Hockey want to move talent development to a higher level by providing frequent, high quality contact time for a targeted group of players with appropriate competition to support player development, in order to develop an oversupply of high calibre players for National Age Group Squads.

What happens?

Players attend evening training sessions and take part in weekend training and competition, meeting approximately twice a month. There are 17 Performance Centres across the Country, and players will attend the centre closest to them.

As part of the Performance Centre programme, centres will compete against each other. There are two types of Performance Centre competition:

Cluster Competitions are held between four or five Performance Centres at a central location. Each squad plays two matches per competition. There will be three Cluster Competitions per season.

Training Competitions are held between two or three Performance Centres and will usually be held at a current centre location. Squads will take part in training followed by a match or triangular fixture with the other squad/s attending the competition day. 

How do I get involved?

• Players are usually nominated to attend a Talent Academy by their Academy Centre Coaches
• Players can be nominated from age 14-17.
• Players who consistently show their talent and potential are invited to attend the TA

If you are not selected for a TA don’t worry, you should continue to develop your hockey through school, club and Academy Centre activity. You may be nominated later in the season and can be nominated to attend a TA up to age 17.

Entry and Exit points?

Players enter TA at the start of the season  There are then two points during the year where they may return to Academy Centres. At the end of the Performance Centre programme in July, players may be selected to attend the England Hockey Futures Cup.

Who is it run by?

TA are run by the regions, are lead by Performance Centre Head Coaches and are supported by Centre Managers and Administrators.