There’s a lot happening right now with England camps going on, but EIH are also running another programme alongside ENTP, aimed at our younger age group players.

This is the second year of running our “Power of” programme, and this year is under the watchful eye of one of our longest-serving England coaches, Alan Hague.

Alan has taken over as head coach of our “Power of” teams after being part of the coaching team who had been to the Peewee tournament in Quebec for the past few seasons.

Supporting Alan will be Kerry Kolisek, who last year experienced a successful trip to Trencin with the PO12 teams. Kerry will continue this year as manager of the “Power of” teams, as well as a coaching setup of Tom Annetts (PO12 head coach) and Bernie Bradford (PO11 head coach)

Ben Pitchley, GM of the Elite Player Pathway, said: “Another year, another group of players looking to elevate their game to the next level, and it’s been fantastic so far.

“The coaching team that Alan has put together have the experience to truly help develop these young hockey players and give them a firm grounding of what’s required to be involved with the full ENTP next year.

“Last year was the first year we allowed our PO12 teams to travel abroad, giving them life experiences and preparing them for what the future holds as part of the England programme, which for this age group next season will visit the Peewee Quebec tournament.”

Alan Hague said: “Ben has put me into a position that has brought me full circle with regards to my coaching and England hockey, as I started out assisting with these types of events many years ago.

“I’ve been supported in bringing in like-minded coaches who are here for one thing and one thing only, and that’s player development.

“The talent pool from last season’s PO11 group is pretty high, so it’s made the coaching teams decision making extremely hard, which is a good thing for the future.”

Tom Annetts is the head coach of this PO12 group of players and was also keen to praise the talent pool at this age group.

“These camps were tough on both the players, due to their compete levels being so high, and the coaches that had to make the hard choices,” he said.

“The future of the sport is looking extremely bright, with some of the talent that is coming out of junior clubs right now, which in turn is only going to help establish the ENTP for future years to come, and onto the GB pathways.”

The PO12 age group (players born 2013) have already had two tryout camps to reach a squad of 40 players.

On Monday, the coaches have the unenviable task of reducing the squad down to 34 players plus netminders, to take to Trencin, Slovakia in early January 2025, where they will take part in a week-long training camp and daily exhibition games against local teams at the same age group.

In addition to Trencin, we are also sending a team to Bratislava in June to attend an international event, with teams attending from as far as Mexico, as well as other European nations who will be attending.

Our PO11 nominations have recently been received, and first invites have gone out for our December camp.

Here we will be quickly selecting a travelling team to attend an event in Dumfries on the 28/29 December, where we will play Scotland, as well as some guest clubs who will be announced by Scottish Ice Hockey soon.

We will also be sending a team to a second Dumfries event towards the end of May, so there is opportunity for those who may not have been seen in December to attend later camps for the May event.

Our PO12 team will also be participating in Dumfries in December, where we will be part of a four-team event. We look forward to working with SIH once again.

Martin Peters, EIH director responsible for the Elite Player Pathway said: “Our programmes continue to grow and develop each season, and we are delighted to be able to work with clubs in identifying players who clubs believe have a great future in our sport.

“The Power of 12 had a successful experience in Trencin in 2024, and we look forward to returning there in January 2025, as well as the addition of the Bratislava trip in June.

“For the Power of 11 trips, we are working with Scottish Ice Hockey on events in Dumfries, during which selected players will have the chance to compete against Scotland and guest teams in December and May.

“We want to thank clubs for submitting player details for who they believe will do well, and hopefully see as many as possible over the coming months.”

Our next camps for the “Power of” teams will be in Lee Valley on Saturday 7 December.

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