Talent Academy
Welcome to the Holcombe Talent Academy (HTA) — our elite player-development programme and the performance pathway at the heart of the club. Run from our two-pitch home in Medway, the Academy is committed to delivering top-quality coaching to 25 boys and 25 girls every cycle, recruiting players with the potential and commitment to compete at high-performance level hockey and beyond.
Our experienced coaching team delivers technically advanced and physically demanding training schedules in an enjoyable and productive environment built for competitive athletes. The aim is simple: to challenge promising young players, accelerate their development, and give them the very best platform to progress into senior, county, regional and national hockey.
That work is already bearing fruit. At the 2024 Talent Academy Cup our boys’ squad battled through the group stage and into the playoffs, signing off with a hard-fought 3–2 win over Stourport — with coaches noting that “the future looks bright for Holcombe TA with a number of young players shining through.” Our girls’ squad impressed across the tournament with the intensity and growth they showed, leaving their coaches “couldn’t be any prouder of the girls.” These are the standards we set, and the journeys we want every Academy player to be part of.
If you have the talent, the drive and the appetite to be pushed, we look forward to welcoming you to the Holcombe Talent Academy.
Selection
Entry to the Holcombe Talent Academy is by selection. We run an open, structured Talent Identification process each year that is designed to be fair, consistent and focused purely on a player’s potential — not on where they come from or who they already play for.
Who can be considered
The Academy is open to high-potential players who will be entering school years 10, 11, 12 and 13 at the start of the following annual cycle, and who live within the Academy’s designated catchment area. Exceptional circumstances can and will be considered on an individual basis — if you are unsure about eligibility or catchment, please get in touch.
How players are put forward
- Players must be nominated by a coach or teacher from a school, club and/or county hockey environment to attend an open assessment event — see England Hockey’s Talent Academy nomination guidance.
- Nominations close on 1st May each year.
- Nominated players then receive an email inviting them to select an open assessment (Talent ID) event from those on offer.
- All assessment events are completed by the end of the summer half-term window, and no later than 10th June.
How players are assessed
We take real care to keep selection unbiased. Selection is based on observation across more than one trial session where a player has signed up to multiple events. Trialists are identified by numbered bibs rather than by their kit, and players are strongly encouraged not to wear any club, school or county branded sports kit where possible. Coaches proactively discuss every trialist together so that more than one set of eyes informs each decision, and any potential risk of bias is reviewed at Committee level to ensure it does not affect the outcome. Where there is no unanimous decision on a player, the Head Coach has the ultimate decision on their selection.
Outcomes, feedback and appeals
All trialists receive a letter following their attendance at a Talent ID event notifying them of their selection status, along with constructive feedback where a player has not been selected. If you would like to discuss a decision further, you are welcome to contact the Academy by email to talk it through.
For nominations, catchment queries or any logistical questions, email holcombe.ta@holcombe.hockey.