Talent Academy @ Surbiton HC

Talent Academies (TAs) are designed to create environments that challenge an appropriate pool of high potential athletes, with recognition that talent development is a non-linear, long-term process.

TAs will provide exceptional talent development environments that deliver regular, year round provision to the highest potential U15-U18 players (Year 10-13). Nationwide, this caters for around 1,000 athletes.

Every Talent Academy will have a squad of players selected through a robust process based on the England Hockey Player Profile. These players will be nominated by Clubs, Schools and Counties, broadening the access routes into the highest levels of hockey development. Please click here to see the EH Talent System update.

The Surbiton HC Talent Academy strives to provide a fair and impartial selection process. Previously, players who were not initially selected, felt as if the door was closed permanently. This is something that we have changed and our coaches have ongoing communications with club/school/county coaches as these players progress.

Initial nominations is from schools, clubs, counties via the EH nomination process.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC will hold multiple talent identification events each season and these events will be communicated to all nominators directly and via the EH website.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC follows the EH Talent Academy Guidelines for Player Identification & Selection. Please click here to view.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC will ensure the most appropriate decisions are made about where and how selected players develop and play their hockey based on the RARE (right athlete, right environment) principle.

Please find the Surbiton TA selection policy here

England Hockey's Talent Academy Player Selection Review Process is available here 

The Surbiton Talent Academy is entering its fourth cycle and will undergo a restructure this season to align more closely with the new Surbiton Performance Pathway. 

All athletes within the Surbiton Performance Pathway will be part of the Talent Academy, with external TA members joining the group every other week during the season and twice a week in the summer term. This structure is designed to ensure consistently high-quality training while keeping the TA identity. 

Last cycle, England Hockey introduced a new format for Talent Academy fixtures, where each squad was seeded ahead of the end-of-cycle tournament. This meant that some players played more fixtures than others. In previous years, we aimed to allocate fixtures as equally as possible, but the new structure has made this more challenging. The new fee structure (outlined below) reflects these changes.  

The end of cycle festival will be run by EH (There will a fee of approx. £300 payable to EH for this). Please note that affiliated EAG players may be eligible to play in the End of Cycle Festival.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC will run a mentor programme which will consists of both group and individual sessions throughout the season.

Please note that this structure may differ to other Talent Academies.

To reflect the changes outlined above, we have updated our fee structure for the 2025/26 season: 

• Talent Academy fee: £570
• Training day fee (3 per year): £60 
• Match fees (per fixture): £9 

Compulsory kit will include a shirt, shorts/skort and socks at a cost of approximately £90.

Financial Assistance
The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC is committed to providing financial assistance to those players that would otherwise be unable to engage in the programme or to purchase equipment.

Please see the Financial Assistance document here for details.

England Hockey Hardship Fund
England Hockey also have a Hardship Fund that players may be able to access; please see information and application below:

England Hockey Hardship Fund

Hardship Fund Application Form

Bursaries & Grants

Surrey Playing Fields offer bursaries to young athletes in elite sports aged between 10 and 20 years old who need a helping hand to improve in their chosen sport. You can read more here.

Elmbridge Sports Council Grant Aid Is an annual grant targeted towards encouraging sporting achievement in the borough. Talented individuals are invited to apply. A total of £10,000 is awarded each year with awards of up to £350 per individual are available to be put towards their training, travelling, competition costs and purchase of equipment. Individuals must have a supporting letter from a club or coach. Click here for more information.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All young people have the right to be safe and enjoy their Hockey.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC is committed to providing a safe, enjoyable and inclusive talent development environment with a duty of care for every individual's wellbeing.

We have a strictly enforced Safeguarding Policy which all players, coaches, managers and parents are directed to read and use as reference for any issues that might be of concern.

The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC safeguarding policies and procedures are in line with the Surbiton HC policies. Please click here for all Surbiton HC policies including privacy, data protection, equity, diversity and inclusion and codes of conduct.

All Safeguarding and Welfare issues and concerns should be directed to The Talent Academy at Surbiton HC’s Safeguarding and Welfare Officer Sunny Pottay: safeguarding@surbitonhc.com

Please click here for the 2025/26 calendar of activity for Surbiton HC's Talent Academy

You can contact us on talentacademy@surbitonhc.com