This is a new development programme for (youth and senior) players who are already part of the performance squad or have been identified as potential future performance squad members. This programme will initially be launched by invitation and includes both male and female outfield players.

We hope to learn a lot from the programme to support the club's aim to provide the best opportunities for hockey players at all levels across the club and to meet our players' aspirations in their hockey.

The programme will stretch all attendees in everything from foundation skills under pressure through to advanced technical skills.

This programme will be offered at an additional cost to participants and will begin in September this year on Friday evenings.

Shenarda Dedic (FIH level 3 qualified coach), our performance lead for the women's and the youth sections of the club, will lead this exciting new programme.

SCHEDULE 2023-24

DATE	U14	U18	ADULT
22.09.23			19.45 - 21.15
29.09.23		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
06.10.23	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
13.10.23	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
20.10.23		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
27.10.23	HALF	TERM	BREAK
03.11.23	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
10.11.23		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
17.11.23	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
24.11.23	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
01.12.23		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
08.12.23	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
15.12.23	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
CHRISTMAS	BREAK	CHRISTMAS	BREAK
05.01.24		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
12.01.24	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
19.01.24	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
26.01.24		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
02.02.24	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
09.02.24	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
16.02.24	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
23.02.24	HALF	TERM	BREAK
01.03.24	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
08.03.24		18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15
15.03.24	18.00 - 19.30		19.45 - 21.15
22.03.24	18.00 - 19.30	19.45 - 21.15

FAQs

Why is St Albans doing this?
As a club we want to develop our players to play for our performance teams (men's and women’s 1st and 2nd teams).

Why is this chargeable?
This is being delivered at an additional cost to the club. We believe it is a very competitive rate for a programme delivered by high calibre coaches.

What do I need to do?
Nothing right now. If you or your son or daughter is going to be invited to join, you will be contacted by the club to gauge your interest.

Why can’t my son/daughter join in?
For this season we plan to make entry by invitation. Invitations will be based on the extensive knowledge of our youth and senior coaches (our coaches have experience of high performance environments including but not exclusively England hockey pathway). Where appropriate we will consult with youth age group coaches about elements of the players' performance and “coachability" in youth sessions. In future years we may look at alternative routes to join.

Is this only a youth programme?
No, we plan to run adult sessions too.

How many people per group?
The aim is to invite 12 players for mixed gender sessions at adult, U18 (including U16 squads) and U14 (including U12 squad).

Isn’t this a bit elitist?
The programme is targeted at players we believe can help the club develop its profile through league success (at national league level) now or in the coming years. This will hopefully help us to have high performing teams that you want to come down and watch and can be proud of as a member of SAHC. It will help us attract more future members and improve the quality throughout the club. We will also expect the delegates to share their knowledge and experience with their peers at their weekly age group training sessions.

How can I access more coaching?
For those keen on further development there are private sessions available on the SAHC website for personal/private training sessions from a number of St Albans club coaches.
We are also reinvigorating the St Albans youth holiday camps, so watch this space for these opportunities to improve your hockey.

Won’t having a training session on a Friday make the players too tired to play on Saturday?
These sessions are designed to be technical development sessions and not fitness training sessions. The senior performance squads will also participate in these Friday sessions and naturally we will ensure neither adult nor youth Saturday performance is compromised. In fact our experience is that these sessions have significantly improved game performance for previous attendees of similar technical development sessions.

Will it only be open to club members?
The programme will prioritise club members but we may open up to those interested in joining SAHC to ensure that all attendees are stretched and the quality of the sessions supports the aim of delivering future performance squad players and supporting existing/aspiring performance squad members.

Why aren’t goalkeepers included?
In this first stage of the programme development we don’t have the scope to support the goalkeepers in the way that we would want to, and they deserve. Rather than give them a lesser experience we feels it’s better to focus on outfield players for now, and will look at how we might develop something for goalkeepers in the future.