Three DRHC juniors are taking part in the Hockey Mentors scheme - a project for talented hockey players from state schools and/or ethnic minorities to have access to more training and matches that they would normally get at school and so fulfil their potential.

Ollie (in the centre of our main photo) has been involved in the Hockey Mentors High Performance Programme since July 2022 and he’s being joined by Robbie (left) and Jasper (right) in the 2023 intake.

We thought you’d like to hear about what Hockey Mentors can offer, so here are some of Ollie’s experiences from his first year being involved.

The programme includes training camps held at different locations around the UK and Ollie has had the chance to train at Lee Valley and the Commonwealth pitches at Birmingham University. These camps included technical coaching, off pitch sessions and tournaments. The coaches at each session vary and often include players from the existing GB squads: Ollie has received coaching from Nick Bandurak (drag flick masterclass) and Fiona Crackles. He also had a 1-2-1 online mentoring session with Tom Sorsby, where he discussed strength & conditioning advice, mindset support and basic nutrition - a great opportunity to get bespoke support from an experienced player.

More recently Ollie has been playing in the Competition Programme, playing in matches against Whitgift School U14s in London and the Hockey Wales NAGS Squads in Cardiff. And in June he is due to captain the Hockey Mentors U14s Indoor team in the Derby Indoor Championship.

Ollie said “I’ve really enjoyed my time so far with Hockey Mentors and feel privileged to be part of such a great programme. The High Performance Camps have been brilliant, getting to play with other players of a high standard, making lots of new friends and hearing about their experiences so far on the player pathway. The coaches and the mentors have really helped and inspired me to improve my hockey. Being given the opportunity to be coached by players from the current GB team was amazing, I especially enjoyed the drag flick masterclass from Nick Bandurak.”

Whilst the deadline to join for this season has passed, if you think your son or daughter could benefit from joining, do have a look at the Hockey Mentors website https://hockeymentors.org where you can sign up for future opportunities - https://hockeymentors.org/join/.