A Partnership Between

Last year Rotherham Schools Sports Association set up the very successful "Rotherham Schools Hockey Academy" in conjunction with the above partners and Rotherham Hockey Club.

England Hockey have now initiated a programme for the development of field hockey players throughout England country called the "Single System", which in Rotherham is to be merged with Rotherham Schools Hockey Academy to form the "Rotherham Schools and Youth Hockey Junior Development Centre".

The Rotherham JDC is one of three centres in South Yorkshire, managed by the South Yorkshire Hockey Development Group, the others are at Doncaster and Sheffield, where coaching hockey will be offered to squads of both boys and girls at the ages of Under 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. These ages are based on a birth date of the 1st January 2009. It is proposed that each squad will comprise the best 30 hockey players in each age group from Under 12 through to Under 17. There will be two initial assessment days followed by squad coaching, all of which will take place from September to December 2008 on Sunday afternoons at Firth Rixson Aurora Sports Club Ground, Brinsworth, Rotherham, S60 5ND. The detailed programme is given below. The coaching will be under the supervision of some of our best local coaches on a maximum coach: player ratio of 1:15. At the end of the programme there will be a tournament after which some players will be selected to join the South Yorkshire Junior Academy Centre at their age group, which will take place starting in January 2009.

The students in each age group will be selected after the 2 assessment sessions that are open to any student in South Yorkshire interested in participating in Hockey and developing their skills. It is expected that the majority of those participating will attend a Rotherham school that is part of the Rawmarsh or Wickersley School Sport Partnerships. Pupils from other schools will be allowed to participate in the Rotherham JDC if they are unable to attend one of the other JDCs or the Rotherham JDC is within easier travel distance from their home. Details of the 2 assessment sessions are given below after which selected students will be asked to attend a further 5 development sessions. If you are unable to attend the two assessment sessions then you will be allowed to attend the first two development sessions for assessment. All sessions will be 2 hours long and the cost will be £4 per session payable on the day. RSHA kit including a Rotherham Schools Academy Tracksuit Top can be ordered and details will be available after the two assessment sessions.

Assessment Sessions
Sunday 14th September and Sunday 21st September 2008

11am to 1pm	Under 12 Boys and Girls Under 13 Boys and Girls
1pm to 3pm	Under 14 Boys and Girls Under 15 Boys and Girls
3pm to 5pm	Under 16 Boys and Girls Under 17 Boys and Girls

Development Sessions
All sessions will be on Sunday afternoons at the provisional times given below.

All participants should arrive 30 minutes before the start of their session for administration and warm up.

Our aim is to gather together Rotherham's best school hockey players who will have the opportunity to receive at least 12 hours of quality coaching. If the students have a hockey stick they should bring it with them, however there will be some you can borrow on the day. Players will only be allowed to wear astro boots or trainers on the Astroturf pitch. Long studded football boots will not be allowed. Players must also wear shin pads and we strongly recommend that they also wear gum shields.

Students may be nominated for the assessments by their parents, their club or their school. If your son/daughter is keen then please bring them to the assessment sessions.
Those students who are successful in being selected for the development programme will, in the opinion of the coaching staff:
1. Be, or have the potential to be, one of the best performers in their age group in one or more aspects of the game
2. Be very enthusiastic about the game of Hockey
3. Possess a positive attitude and the desire to learn and make progress.
4. Whilst it is not essential that the student has previous hockey experience, we would expect them to have played some hockey at school or club level for them to believe they may be one of the best players in the Rotherham area.
Please note; if the number of participants is high then we will select the better players BUT if the number of applicants is lower then we will invite ALL applicants and adjust the coaching to suit all performers.
At the end of the development programme teams will be selected to represent Rotherham in a South Yorkshire JDC tournament.

We hope your son or daughter will take advantage of this opportunity. If you wish them to attend for trial please complete the attached consent form and bring it with you to the first trial at the appropriate time. If you can offer any form of recommendation from your child's teacher or local club then please state this on your application.

Please note that all up to date information regarding the Centre, including cancellation due to inclement weather, will be posted on the Rotherham Hockey Club website at

We look forward to welcoming your son/daughter to the initial assessments and wish them every success.

David Woodward
Centre Organiser
Rotherham Schools and Youth Hockey
Junior Development Centre.


Tel. 07774 231206