The Player Pathway was introduced by England Hockey in 2017 and is designed to provide an environment which helps all junior players to realise their potential, be that as a club player, volunteer, coach, umpire or representing their county, region, England or Great Britain.
County Hockey Associations are responsible for the governance and delivery of the first two levels of the Player Pathway.
- Development Centres (DCs) are the first level in the Pathway. Players are nominated by their club or school to attend centres. Following the DC sessions, some players will be selected for further assessment for the Academy Centres.
- Academy Centres (ACs) are the second level in the Pathway. Where players have the opportunity to represent their County at U14, U15, U16 and U17 levels.
In partnership with the Counties, the Midlands support the organisation of the County Team (Academy) competitions for the Midlands County Academies at U13, U14, U15, U16 and U17 level.
Whilst parts of the Pathway will disappear, the DCs and ACs will remain and run alongside, and complement, the new Talent Centres and Talent Schools.
The Midlands Performance Centres will now be replaced by The Talent Development strategy “A New Way Forward”. You can find out more about the Player Pathway here...
England Hockey are in the process of developing an updated Talent Strategy. You can find out more here...