How to become a field hockey coach

You may have thought about coaching in your club whether you have started playing hockey or you are ending your hockey career. There are several things that you tend to know when you want to enter into coaching for hockey. The very first thing you need to become a hockey player is to get a successful training of the UKCC Level 1 coaching course, which are held throughout the UK. You can find the locations and timings of these courses from the England Hockey website.

Secondly you would need to attend the sports coach UK good practice and child protection course and a first aid course, which are usually run by your local council’s sports department. Other than that, you have to complete the free Criminal Records Bureau checks. These checks are also for volunteers and the forms can be provided by the club child welfare officer who will help you to fill out the application. After you pass the tests and are fully trained, you can coach school teams, junior teams, low level club sides and can assist the level 2 qualified coach of higher teams. Assisting other coaches will also be a good way of learning advanced coaching skills.

It is recommended that you join the England Hockey Gold membership scheme from which you can get £5 million worth of cover and when you gain the Hockey Gold membership status, you get access to 100 drills and skill learning games via sports plan. To get access to more drills, you can join the full edition of Sportsplan any time. The England Hockey Gold membership also covers the initial level 1 course which costs a minimum of £155, while the first aid course and the safeguarding courses, costs around £20 each. To get a gold membership package you would have to pay a sum of £75.

At the completion of your courses you would be fully trained with the basic skill and techniques of hockey, the rules and principles of the game and how it is played. You will get the theory of the game and during the course of training, applying small sided games will guide you to create a safe, enjoyable and effective environment to teach hockey.