England Hockey is delighted to announce that four National Performance Centres (NPC) have been selected to work in partnership with the National Governing Body to deliver key areas of the Single System, including talent selection supporting hockey’s performance objectives. The centres will provide excellence in training facilities and the delivery of a world class hockey programme for selected players aged 18-23 years. 

In alphabetical order the selection is: 

  • East Midlands NPC (Nottingham Trent University, Loughborough University and Nottingham University consortia)
  • Hockey West NPC (University of Bath, University of Bristol and University of the West of England-UWE consortia)
  • South Coast NPC (University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University and the University of Portsmouth consortia)
  • Yorkshire NPC (Sheffield Hallam University, The University of Sheffield consortia)

Three NPC’s will be established for a September 2008 start with the Yorkshire NPC timeline being September 2009.  Discussions are also continuing with three other prospective NPC’s and it is hoped that these may also eventuate in the future.

The selection process has taken a total of 12 months during which England Hockey has been through a transparent tendering process with over 40 invitations to tender from higher and further education establishments.  These were whittled down to a shortlist of seven and formal submissions then followed along with detailed engagement with England Hockey staff and advisors and site visits to the short listed applicants.

The panel tasked with assessing the initial applications and making the final selections consisted of 

  • Richard Leman - non-executive EH Board Member 
  • Matthew Welbourn - Professional Development Officer, UCAS
  • David Faulkner - England Hockey, Performance Director
  • Sally Munday - England Hockey, Development Director
  • Michelle Hammond - UK Sport, Sport’s Performance Consultant
  • Amanda Partington - England Hockey, National Manager for Education

The quality and strengths of the final shortlist was extremely high and ultimately the panel was only able to differentiate between applications based solely on operational issues.

England Hockey’s Single System identified the need for a number of National Performance Centres at clusters of tertiary educational establishments working in partnership with local clubs strategically located around the country. This is deemed essential to provide aspiring international hockey players with top quality coaching alongside specific strength and conditioning programmes, and support to athletes with physiotherapy, lifestyle and medical support and the development of their academic qualifications. Players will continue to play local club hockey and this will enable the sharing of high performance practice.

David Faulkner, England Hockey’s Performance Director said “The NPC’s will provide our athletes with an opportunity to excel in a highly competitive performance environment, with support that ensures that their educational aspirations are supported. At the same time, it will allow England Hockey to deliver daily technical input to enhance skill development and support the players with the highest quality in strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and lifestyle support. The club links are vital with these clusters for best practice to be shared and continually improve the all round performance environment of hockey in England”

Sally Munday, England Hockey, Development Director said “The National Performance Centres are a vital component of the Single System for hockey which will provide a consistent and equitable pathway for players involved in our sport.  We have been extremely impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity of the NPC applicants and we are very excited at the opportunities that our talented hockey players will be given through this element of the Single System.”

Source: England Hockey