ENGLAND HOCKEY SINGLE SYSTEM
The England Hockey Single System exists to ensure consistency of message and coaching techniques across all England Hockey development age groups. In the last year year or so, England Hockey has substantially upgraded the guidance they provide to coaches within their Single System (the county, regional, national development groups) and made this accessible to clubs. At West Herts, we have taken their renewed coaching strategy on-board and are putting it to good use.
The Single System Coaching Strategy consists of a set of over-arching principles that detail the 'type of players' we should be looking to develop. It should be fairly self-explanatory as to why each of these is considered a good thing. (See below).
There are also five so-called 'Golden threads' that should be running through all coaching sessions. These are:
1. Fun - Players should enjoy hockey sessions and be keen to go away and play more wherever possible!
2. Constant decision making - Rather than learning skills in a vacuum, players need to be able to assess the match situation for themselves and make good decisions
3. Loads of touches of the ball - The more touches each player has, the more they can learn and the more decisions they'll need to make
4. Looks something like the game - So that any games and skills are conducted in a similar environment and with a similar target to what they'd have in a game (= less cones!)
5. Stretch - Lots of academic research exists showing that to improve at a sport or hobby people need to be stretched to learn more, physically and mentally
There are specific skills that are appropriate to different types of players. These are highlighted below, with 3 defensive-type skillsets and 3 attacking-type skillsets for outfield players and a trio of skill sets for goalkeepers.
Any county, regional or national level hockey at junior age groups comes under the Single System. The idea of the Single System in the first instance is that it helps provide additional sporting opportunities for boys and girls who are believed to have achieved or the potential to achieve a certain standard of hockey. The Single System starts with a nomination from a club or school, who can put a player forward for assessment for a Junior Development Centre (JDC). Last year we put forward a number of players and 37 were successful in reaching the full JDC level. There are around 5 sessions for JDCs that have historically run on Sundays during the September-December term. This is changing this year, as they will mostly be held over the summer.
There are a few JDCs within each county If a player excels at JDC, they can be nominated by their JDC coaches to be put forward to a Junior Academy Centre (JAC). This level is with a view to reaching the county squad at the end of the training sessions. Last season we had 20 players active at JAC level. There are roughly 6-7 JAC sessions, which used to run from January to April. This year they will run from November to March.
From those players successful in reaching the final county squad, some will be nominated for the next stage, which is the Junior Regional Performance Centre (JRPC). This stage combines the best players in the region (we are in the East region) at three training centres and sessions take place over the summer (mix of Sundays and a couple of weekdays in August). From here, players will be selected for what is called Tier 1 Competition (where the regional centres play against each other in tournaments) and after that competition, the best players will be put forward to Tier 2 Activity, which is either the Futures Cup or High Performance Academy Centres (HiPAC), depending on their age group. This then opens up the possibility of being selected for a national age group squad at Under 16 and Under 18.
For more information, see the graphic below, or visit the England Hockey Single System pages.
