national finals under our belts. Although there were no tournaments, this did not stop us continuing to develop our player indoor skills. We continued with training twice a week where we were able to create a competitive environment in which the players could test themselves and learn. I look forward to seeing the rewards of this training next year and beyond. JuniorDevelopment Programme (JDP)/Hockey Academy Our JDP and Hockey Academy sessions look at providing high quality coaching for our most talented pupils in Year 7 and 8 running side by side, providing our younger, aspiring players an opportunity to hone their skills against one another. Both of these sessions were run by Ronan Taggart, a Premier League and Welsh international, who has a wealth of experience across all age groups in clubs and at school. He led the players though a series of sessions that did not just challenge their skill levels but also their wider understanding of the game. He was able to create a competitive environment where the players could pit themselves against other high quality players of the same age. This continued throughout the whole year and by the end we were able to see a significant development across all of the participants. Sports Excellence Programme (SEP) Our SEP program is aimed at providing “stretch” to our most talented players from Year 9 to 13. These sessions are designed to test and challenge our athletes’ skill and understanding of the game, and became a crucial part of our hockey programme as it provided a high level of competitive training that the pupils were otherwise unable to
get. These sessions did not just focus on the game but they provided a holistic look at what it takes to be a top player both on and off the pitch. As well as technical and tactical sessions we were able to introduce support through conditioning, goal setting, growth mindset and nutritional guidance. Being able to introduce these new features to our hockey SEP was one of the major development points of the course this year. In October 2020 we were delighted to announce the appointment of Alastair Brogdon (Rio Olympian) as our new Elite Performance Director. Alastair will not only look to further enhance the College’s reputation as one of the top hockey schools in the country, but also work with top performers across all sports to guide them on their path to maintaining a performance lifestyle. Alongside this role, he will also be working with Canterbury Hockey Club to maintain and develop the link between the College and the club. Throughout this year Alastair was able to facilitate a number of 1:1 sessions with some of our top performers. These sessions did not just comprise of high level skill sessions but also sessions that covered the areas that our SEP is looking to develop. Areas such as conditioning and growth mindset. Once again in the absence of competitive hockey it was fantastic to provide our pupils with such a valuable insight into the life of a top performer. Alastair Brogdon – Elite Performance Director Finally, in June 2021 we were able to play a couple of competitive fixtures. Our Girls and Boys 1st XI were able to play Kent College in two one off matches. This was fantastic not just because we got to play some hockey but
our Upper Sixth leavers who had dedicated so much to the school over the years got to have one final match. These matches were played in a fantastic spirit and they were a great way to end an otherwise tough year. The attitude and adaptability of our players and staff while the season was so disjointed must be highlighted. I would like to thank everyone involved in the hockey programme and I hope that come next year we can get back out playing matches and start to see the benefits of such an incredibly dedicated year of training.
Mr H Stevens, Head of Hockey Mr A Brogdon, Elite Performance Director
LAWRENTIAN 2021 73
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