The Bowdon HC Talent Centre
England Hockey (EH) is evolving the way players develop and progress through its Performance Pathway. Bowdon HC is now into its third year of being a Club Mark accredited England Hockey Talent Centre, and we aim to embed high quality junior development within our Junior Programme.
As a Club Mark accredited Talent Centre in the EH Talent System, Bowdon:
- Is accredited to provide the right training and development environment for all levels of player, including those aspiring to progress through the EH Pathway
- Offers a direct route for player nomination to progress to Talent Academy and/or England National Age Group (U16 or U18 NAGS) trials
- Provides an accessible way for all players to enjoy developing to the best they can be, within the club environment
Learn more about what the England Hockey Talent System and Bowdon’s place within this as a Talent Centre here (select and scroll to read through):
Player development is at the core of our training ethos. To achieve this, we are constantly reviewing and evolving our junior training and player development to support a continuum of juniors: from those aspiring to play at the highest national level to those learning and enjoying social hockey. This means that within our Club, there is a choice of playing environments to meet the needs of every player, depending on their playing priorities or commitments.
Hockey Foundations
At the root of player development is the development of strong core hockey skills. Therefore we start our focus on this in a fun way at our ‘Fundamentals’ sessions available from Reception onwards, reinforced with specific Foundations training on Sundays to reinforce core skills for players in years 6-8.
Age Group Training
The main Talent Centre focus is for players in years 8-11 (age 12-16). Therefore our U14 and U16 age group training, run by professional coaches with experience of the Talent Pathway, is key for players who are keen to progress and commit to their hockey. These are held fortnightly, with boys then girls training on alternate weeks from 6.30 – 8pm at the home ‘wet’ pitch.
2025-26 dates and details are below. As we compete at the top ‘Tier 1’ level in England hockey competitions, players who are committed and keen to be part of our U14 or U16 competitive squads or progress through the Talent Pathway are encouraged to prioritise these over other sessions as much as possible.
U14 and U16 Squad Training 25-26
Additional Talent Centre Sessions
As part of our Talent Centre, we also run several other activities:
- Holiday activity: Group training, 1-2-1s and small group sessions
- Spring Extended Talent Development Programme
- Young leader development (coaching and umpiring)
These can be found on the Bowdon Hockey Plus website and are also open to non-members, with costs discounted for members. If you have any questions please contact Connor Jameson at [email protected]