Hooked For Life

Long-Term Player Development – Hooked for Life: 

The model is an essential component for anyone involved in hockey including players, coaches, parents and administrators. The goal of Hooked for Life is to recruit, capture, develop and retain players through:   

• A clear holistic pathway – which is easy to understand and covers all strands (both performance and grassroots)
• Being player centered – focusing on the participation element of being in a team (rather than individual) sport
• Fun and enjoyable – developing a love of the game for life (considering both wants and needs of players)
• Quality and fun coaching – at all levels
• Understood by all – so that it is easy to locate a player and understood by non hockey players/parents

Hooked for Life has been developed principally around 3 main fundamental areas:

• THE PLAYER – meeting the needs of the player in terms of dedication, level of skills, responsibility and enjoyment
• THE COACH – to ensure the central leader of the group understands what to expect from each player and the team as a whole
• THE GAME – choosing formats that suit the needs of the players

With the PLAYER at the heart of the model, their needs, requirements and motivation are the primary focus. GAMES have been developed at Phases 1-3 which are designed to ensure that players develop in a fun and stimulating environment which systematically introduces the physical, technical and tactical components. The approach of the COACH is essential in delivering a GAME that fits the requirements of the PLAYER and as such are paramount to Hooked for Life model.