Coaching Resources for Kids
May 28, 2020
Kenny Carroll (Leinster Regional Development Officer) has sourced the following information which we think is very relevant for Junior Hockey programmes & the coaches/helpers involved.
"There is a lot of information available at the moment, the 4 resources I have included I have read / undertaken myself and can vouch for them to be of the highest quality and really really relevant for what coaches / helpers and children need. They will help towards creating great environments for children’s hockey and sport." [KC]
Horst Wein’s ‘ Hockey Development Plan’
This is included as 5 pdf attachments below. It is the full text from Intro, Coaching Philosophy to age appropriate games and exercises for 7-14 year olds.
It is an ideal ‘Coaching Plan’ for junior hockey programmes to use. Horst Wein (RIP) was a world renowned hockey coach (Germany / Spain men's national teams ) and also football coach (FC Barcelona and many other clubs) and his ideas have been implemented across the world of youth hockey and children's sport in general. The Intro chapters are very inspiring and Horst uses a ‘Games Based Approach’.
| Horst Wein - Key to Better Hockey (Intro) | CLICK HERE |
| Horst Wein - Key to Better Hockey (Part 1) | CLICK HERE |
| Horst Wein - Key to Better Hockey 7 - 9 year olds (Part 2) | CLICK HERE |
| Horst Wein - Key to Better Hockey 10yo + (Part 3) | CLICK HERE |
| Horst Wein - Key to Better Hockey 12yo+ (Part 4) | CLICK HERE |
There is a free online resource called ICoach Kids. The website is icoachkids Click Here
It is a very well regarded project backed by the EU. Some of the best minds in coaching children and coach education in Europe currently are involved in it such as Sergio Lara Bercial and Kris van der Haegen. It not sport specific. It is the best resource for children’s sport I have come across . As well as numerous articles and videos on the website there is 3 MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). As someone who has completed these courses I cannot recommend them enough. They are ideal to complete online in your own time with short video clips. MOOC 1 is the longest with 2 and 3 being a bit shorter. I recommend all club officers / coordinators who aren’t necessarily coaches should complete MOOC 1 as it has important insights into club structures and good organisational practice. A downloadable pdf certificate is issued at the completion of each MOOC . The link to the e- learning MOOCs is :
Thirdly there is project in England called ‘Boing’. It is funded by Sport England as a research project but open to all including those who live in Ireland. It is a resource of an online course and 120 ‘PlayGames’ to help develop Physical Literacy for children in a fun game based manner. I have done the course and it is very professionally run with very experienced tutors (Danny Newcombe who is one of the creators and tutors is a well regarded hockey coach with Hockey Wales currently) . They are great games for warm ups etc, very fun and energising, which will help develop children’s physical literacy at the same time , which is so important for lifelong physical activity. They are running courses online at the moment and the cost is only £10 to cover admin charges. It is open to all interested people. Their next online course (they seem to be running weekly) is on Tuesday 2nd June . The links are here
Playtank - Playtank Link
Boing Kids - Boing Kids Link
The FIH Academy are running many online workshops / courses at the moment. They are being run on a daily and weekly basis. The website is: Click Here
They are covering all topics from complete courses to workshops on different aspects of coaching and also umpiring. They are well run and it’s an opportunity to link in with coaches from around the world. I have done some of the workshops and had the opportunity to share ideas with coaches from Australia, India, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, England, Canada etc. All the tutors are very experienced as well. This creates a good learning environment as there is lots of interaction. Please note times of courses are advertised as CET so 1 hour earlier than us at the moment.
Every club is encouraged to have a ‘Club Coach Developer’ as a volunteer position to encourage and advocate for coach development within your club. An experienced enthusiastic coach within your club is an good option for this position. Coach education and development are key for clubs to develop and to create and sustain a learning and enjoyable environment for more and more children and young adults.
Finally Hockey Ireland are planning to restart on own Coaching Courses later in the summer when pitch access will be permitted. So please check our website in the coming weeks and months to keep an eye on courses when return to sport arrangements are confirmed. If any club would like to host a course when restrictions are lifted please contact Kenny.carroll@hockey.ie .
Our popular Young Hockey Leader course will be run later in the summer also with a combination of online learning and a pitch session. This course is suitable for teenagers . Once details are confirmed we will be in contact with all clubs
I hope this information and resources included are beneficial and hopefully we can get back on hockey pitches soon. Please encourage all your coaches and helpers to do as much upskilling as possible as the children will be the ones who benefit from better coaches and sports leaders.
Kenny Carroll
Leinster Development Officer
kenny.carroll@hockey.ie
