Leicester Hockey Club (Mens Teams)

Primary Coaching for Girls and Boys

 

Based at Leicester Grammar School, the hockey club provides some of the finest facilities in the country to give children the opportunity to train, improve, and enjoy hockey in a safe environment. The programme is run by fully qualified coaches.

 

Leicester Hockey Club is an England Hockey Clubs1st accredited club. This accreditation scheme is part of The Sport England Clubmark Programme which recognises the club as providing a ‘safe, effective and child friendly’ environment.

 

The Primary hockey coaching programme runs throughout the year except during the holiday periods around Christmas, New Year and Easter. There is also a short break in the summer. Over the year we provide more than 40 sessions. 

 

When:	Sundays 10:00 am – 12:00 mid-day
Venue:	Leicester Grammar School, Great Glen
Ages:	5 – 11 years (School years 1 – 6)

Primary Coaching is for children aged (nominally) between 5 and 11 years old. Slightly younger or older children may be included, especially in the case of siblings.

 

As we have a limited number of places, we do not run our sessions on a “drop-in” basis. All attendees are required to sign membership forms and pay the appropriate subscription fees.

 

You can enquire about availability of places by contacting the club via murrayn@leicestergrammar.org.uk.

 

 

Membership

 

The cost of membership of the junior section is £60 per year. Membership is free for pupils of Leicester Grammar School. You can enquire about payment options upon submitting the completed membership forms. We do not charge for the training sessions separately – that is, no money changes hands at training sessions – other than any outstanding payment of annual subscription.

 

The Programme

 

Upon joining up with the programme, each child is placed into one of three groups based mainly on age, but also taking into account their skill level and ability to cope physically with the other children in the group.

 

We have dedicated coaches assigned to each group and we endeavor to achieve a high ratio of coaches to children. 

 

Group	Lead Coaches	Participants
LEVEL 1 (Beginners):	Anthony Kaspruk Anna Smalley David Tyers	This group is generally for the youngest ones (aged 5-8, nominally) but may include older ones who are just starting out.
LEVEL 2 (Under 8/9):	David Hill David Standish	This group is for those who would normally be in School Years 3 and 4 but may include the more able younger ones and less skilled/experienced older ones.
LEVEL 3 (Under 10/11):	Harvinder Bhuhi Paul Moorhouse Mahesh Patel Rinoo Patel	This group is for those from School Years 5 and 6 but could include the more able younger and less skilled/experienced older ones.

 

In addition to the coaches listed, we have the active services of Gaynor Nash and Neil Murray, as well as several ‘helpers’. This helps us achieve the target ratio of at least one coach for every four children.

 

Combined with the coaching support available we have access to some of the finest facilities in the country. The children learn to play hockey on water-based and sand-based pitches as well as indoor hockey in the sports hall. 

 

Session structure

 

Start of session	Sessions start promptly at 10.00 a.m. Each session begins with a physical warm-up followed by a stick and ball warm up to reinforce basic pushing, hitting and receiving skills.
Skill(s) of the day	Each session focuses on one or two ‘core’ skills only, eg dribbling or tackling. These add to the children’s toolbox of skills. Players are also encouraged to develop ball skills such as juggling and tricks etc to help develop ball control.
Game play	The second half of the two-hour session is used for game play. We keep the games small-sided (typically 3v3) as this makes it easier for the children to remain active in the game all of the time.  We have devised our own game rules which encourage teamwork.
End of session	Each session ends with a warm down which is an opportunity for the coaches to get all the children together, in their groups, to reinforce the coaching/learning points of the day.
Rewards	At the end of each session, each coach selects one child for a ‘Mars Bar Award’ for the child who demonstrates the qualities we want to promote - such as good behaviour, effort, performance, fair play or general improvement.

 

Coaching Philosophy

 

There are many views and attitudes to coaching, especially what is best for the youngsters themselves. England Hockey’s Single System prescribes a player development syllabus from age 5 or so all the way to senior level. In general, this is an excellent framework for coaching. 

 

Within the club, we have a common approach amongst the coaching team and all the coaches work towards the same long-term goals.

 

The key results we seek from the programme are:

 

• Players can execute all the core skills.
• Players play with comfort and composure on the ball.
• Players make their own decisions.
• Players work as a team.
• Players are creative.

Competitions

 

Under 9: Winners of Westleigh Tournament 2009

We enter teams in several mini-hockey tournaments. Selection policy for squads for these events makes every effort to give all those who wish to play equal playing time. Where possible, we will enter as many teams as necessary to achieve this. 

 However, players and parents must understand that, as there are often large differences in ability within the squad, giving all players equal pitch time may mean losing some games that could be won.

The club’s attitude is that, whilst winning is good, it is more important that we are developing our children in the right way. Chances are that if we are bringing them up the right way, they will be winners more often than not – for ultimately winning is important. 

Safety

 

Safety of the children is taken most seriously. All children must be dressed appropriately for taking part.

 

Appropriate clothing is full P.E./football/hockey kit (shirt, shorts or skirt/skorts, sports socks). Especially during the colder months, tracksuits are a good idea.

 

All players must wear shin pads. For their own safety, children without shin pads will not be allowed to participate.

 

It is also recommended that gum-shields and hockey gloves are worn.

 

During each session, we have a number of breaks for drinks. It is important that all children bring drinks with them.

 

Parental Responsibilities

 

The club requires that a parent, guardian or nominated adult remains present during each training session. We will normally open and make available the pavilion, from where they and other spectators may watch.