Pathways Programme
The pathways programme is invite only for field players and by application for GKs. The players that have been invited are the top 5-7 players (ranked by the head coach from the previous year) returning to the same age group team. Ie players who played U13 last year and still eligible in 08. We have a shortage of GKs in Wellington and this is one way to up-skill the GKs we have.
The programme has been set up this way after consulting various other associations in NZ and overseas as well as other codes in the greater Wellington region. The returning players have been targeted as they will more than likely form the core of the 09 rep teams.
A new concept that we will be adding to the 09 pathways programme will be the introduction of BARS (although we are still waiting to confirm) This will ensure that players are not only focussing on their skill development but also looking at the conditioning aspect with a focus on speed and speed endurance training.
Acceptance into the Pathways Programme does not guarantee that you will be selected for the age group representative team.
The objective of the pathways programme is to give the players a re-education on the core skills required of representative players. It will then be expected that the pathways players pass on these skills to thier club and/or school teams.
There will be also more hockey in the form of holiday programmes and longer training periods for representative teams in season 09.
If you have any questions about this or the representative programme don't hesitate to contact the CoachForce Officer.
Nin Roberts
CoachForce Officer.