England Hockey have announced that Holcombe Hockey Club are one of 20 clubs to have achieved Talent Centre (TC) accreditation, recognising the high-quality environment provided for young players at early talent development level (Talent Foundations).
The aim of Talent Centre accreditation is to recognise and develop clubs that provide safe, enjoyable and exciting environments for young people, safe challenge and support for talented players and pro-actively prioritises its junior system to optimise the opportunities for further development.
All of the clubs that have been awarded TC status have undertaken an in-depth talent development programme over the last 12 months and met criteria across a wide range of areas including coaching, talent development provision, athlete wellbeing and governance.
Heather Williams, Great Britain Head of Elite Talent Development writes, “My congratulations to everyone who has contributed to their club gaining Talent Centre status. The accreditation process is a big commitment, and I appreciate the hard work that has gone in over the last 12 months to get to this point.
“From my perspective, Talent Centre Accreditation is as much about the development and learning it stimulates as the outcome. So, it’s been really pleasing to see clubs coming together to share their experiences and to discuss really important issues such as integrating juniors into senior hockey and creating a healthy talent development culture.
“This is just the start of what I hope will be many more clubs working towards and achieving Talent Centre accreditation and in doing so providing more and better opportunities for young people from all over the country to progress in hockey.
More information about Talent Centres and the England Hockey Talent Strategy can be found here – https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/play/talent-system
