Eagles HC have been working with and coaching youngsters for many years with most of these youngsters eventually rising through the ranks to populate our men’s and women’s senior teams.

 

More recently, and during the difficult 2020 COVID Pandemic, we created a Youth Academy which incorporates all our youth teams for boys and girls between the
ages of five to fourteen and offers them all a proper structure through which to prosper their hockey careers.

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Our main aims are to:

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1. Promote hockey as a sport

2. Introduce youngsters to the sport of hockey at an early age

3. Develop our youth both on and off the field of play

4. Ensure the continuity of our senior teams

5. Ensure coaches, umpires, goalkeepers as well as players are developed

6. Encourage parental participation

7. Encourage mixed gender hockey groups

Our Youth Academy aims to provide youth with protective factors against isolation, failing at school, lack of motivation, use of drugs and alcohol and basically aiming to keep them off the streets.

 

We also encourage integration amongst mixed gender and cultural groups, inclusion as well as actively encouraging parental involvement.

Our academy is split into various groups according to ability and age, as follows:

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• New entrants:

 

This group caters for all new players participating in our sessions for the first time, irrespective of age and gender, and introduces them to holding the hockey stick, safe use of the stick, the basic hockey equipment such as the stick and ball, the hockey pitch and to basic concepts required in all team sports such as being a member of a group, queuing up, working with others, etc. This is all done through individual and team games all hockey related.

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• Boys & Girls Mini’s: 6 - 11 years approximately

 

This group begins to introduce children to the basic skills of hockey such as moving the ball (dribbling), receiving (trapping), passing and tackling and to basic hockey rules. Children normally end their sessions with small 3 or 4 a-side mini-hockey games and are encouraged to use shin pads as basic protection.

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• Boys’ development: 11 – 14 years approximately

 

More advanced skills such as goal scoring and elimination and other ways to pass the ball are introduced at this level. Hockey rules are further explained and children wanting to try out as keeper are encouraged and safely introduced to this specialised position with the team. This is the final stepping stone before boys move on to training with the senior men’s squads.

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• Girls’ development: 11 – 14 years approximately

 

Same concept as the boy’s development squad. Our girls are introduced to 5 and 7-a-side hockey games as they prepare to make the jump to train with our women’s senior teams. Are young women are also introduced to more complex rules and set-pieces such as short and long corners, etc. whilst also learning about the different protective equipment available (masks, gloves, etc.)