Old Loughtonians are one of 17 clubs in the country to have been offered the opportunity by England Hockey to host a Talent Academy from September 2022.

These Talent Academies will be run by clubs in collaboration with England Hockey and will replace the Performance Centres which were previously run directly by England Hockey.

The Talent Academies for players aged between 15 and 18 and Talent Centres for players from 13 to 15 are part of the New Player Pathway introduced by England Hockey with a view to increasing participation and producing players able to compete with the best in the world.

Loughts has been chosen to host a Talent Academy with a catchment area running from East London to the Essex coast as well as Hertfordshire, while Cambridge City has been chosen to cover Cambridgeshire and much of Suffolk and Norfolk. Hampstead & Westminster is set to cover North West London and above.

Players identified by England Hockey will be invited to attend trials at each host club based on their club and where they live. Some 25 girls and 25 boys in each catchment area will then be invited to train at the Talent Academy whilst (as with Performance Centres) remaining members of their own clubs.

Jay Fox, Manager of the Northwood Performance Centre, will lead the Old Loughtonians Talent Academy and is excited by the challenge of running the Talent Academy and working not only in collaboration with England Hockey but also the many clubs within the catchment area whose young aspiring players will have the opportunity to train together at the Talent Academy whilst also developing at their own clubs.

"We are delighted to have been entrusted with this role by England Hockey and look forward to welcoming players to the Talent Academy and to working with their home clubs to help the development of these exceptional young players," said Fox.

"Old Loughts has also been selected for accreditation as a Talent Centre reflecting the high quality of its coaching and facilities."