Old Silhillians HC one of less than 50 Clubs in the Country invited to apply for Talent Centre Accreditation

Over the next few months you will get to hear more and more about the Talent Centre Accreditation that OSHC is working towards.

In 2000 OSHC was the first hockey club in the Country to attain (and maintain for 5 periods) the Clubmark Accreditation which recognises the strong Welfare and Safeguarding practises that are in place. Now, OSHC is one of fewer than 50 hockey clubs in the country to be working towards the Talent Centre Accreditation, having been invited to do so by England Hockey.

A snippet taken from the latest England Hockey Talent Centre FAQs (attached to this article) explains what the terminology Talent Centre refers to:

A Talent Centre club is a club that provides high quality provision for players at early talent development level (Talent Foundations). This provision will be embedded within the club’s junior programme. Talent Centre accreditation recognises the quality of a club’s talent development environment and provision, not individual players.

Over the coming weeks and months, the club will be looking to share more details about recognising all the great work we already do, but also additional elements that we are challenging ourselves to improve, specifically with regards to the principles of good talent development, and the concepts of "Right Athlete, Right Environment" (or RARE). If you would like to read more, please review the "Talent System Framework" document attached to this article.

In Warwickshire, there are only 3 clubs being invited to apply for this accreditation currently, and is a huge testament to the fantastic work that all of the club's volunteers and coaching staff do. We see this accreditation is a way of pushing ourselves to be even better, and focus on the player needs above everything else.

The club will be looking to share information not only with those affected directly (those aged roughly 11-15 as they transition from junior hockey into the adult game), but also every other member of the club, so that they can understand how they will be affected, and why we believe this process will make the club better for everyone.

If you have any questions, please speak to one of the main Talent Centre sub-committee:
Steve Tabb (Chairman)
Andre Tchakhotine (Head of Juniors)
Murray Creed (Director of Hockey)
Nick Oppenheimer (Men's Club Captain)
Sharon Smith (Women's Head Coach)
Cara Bowley (Club Welfare Officer)

Or any of your Captains/Team Managers (as they have also been involved in the modules and conversations to date)