Imagine being a young player and having the opportunity to talk to some of the world’s greatest players and coaches about your own hockey development.
Imagine being given the opportunity to talk with other talented young players on other continents, sharing experiences, talking about challenges and learning about the sport as it is played elsewhere in the world.
Imagine being able to tap into the experiences of players with hundreds of international caps or multi medal winning coaches and discovering their thoughts on what it takes to be the best.
And imagine having the time to have a conversation with players about what it means to be an Olympian or what it feels like, as a coach, to lead a team to a gold medal.
The Young Athlete Academy offers just this opportunity. The FIH Academy, in collaboration with the Hockey Exchange and supported by Coach Logic, has brought together an incredible line-up of players, former players, coaches and FIH educators to provide an online support mechanism for tomorrow’s generation of superstars.
The programme will include workshops covering all aspects of the game; online mentor meetings; membership of the FIH Academy and a 12-month Coach Logic licence, allowing the players to gather detailed insight into their performances and development via the Coach Logic video analysis technology.
The 12-month support and mentoring programme will be available for young athletes from 14-21 years from all across the world.
The workshops will provide a solid educational base in the cornerstones of hockey performance. Technical skills, strength and conditioning advice, nutritional information, sports psychology will all be covered in the workshop sessions, delivered by experts in each field. There will also be instructional sessions on using the Coach Logic technology and advice on effective self-analysis.
The final part of the programme will be looking at principles of play and how you make sure your hockey is adhering to the collective playing principles of the team.
While the workshops are scheduled events, today’s technical savvy young players will also be able to undertake their own personalised learning in their own time. The FIH Academy will provide videos with a breakdown on how to perfect skills – these can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
Each young player will receive individual feedback in the form of assessment and development plans. And at the end of the 12-month programme, each player will receive a certificate of completion.
One of the added value components of the course is the chance to talk to other young players from all over the world. These may not be face-to-face meetings but they are a modern day continuation of hockey’s tradition of creating life-long friendships across the world.
Speaking about the initiative, FIH Academy Director Mike Joyce says: “Bringing together expertise and technology from The Hockey Exchange and Coach Logic has enabled the FIH Academy to create its very first education programme for young players. It is a unique opportunity to gain an FIH Academy Diploma and to access and learn from our team of World Class Educators and International Athlete mentors.”
