HWHC Talent Academy

HWHC TA is based at Paddington Recreation Ground in Maida Vale, London and launched in the first cohort of Talent Academies in Summer 2021.

At the end of cycle festival in July 2023, the girls placed in the top 6 Talent Academies with two wins and one loss. The boys won all three matches, placing in the top 3 Talent Academies. Four girls and three boys were invited to England U16 and U18 National Age Group trials.

At the 2024 TA Cup, both the boys and girls finished second in their groups with two wins and one loss. They finished in the top 12 Talent Academies after losses in their final matches. Three boys and three girls were retained for England U16 and U18 National Age Group trials and an additional two boys and one girl were selected to trial.

At the 2025 TA Cup, the boys won Pool F, winning all matches with the highest goal goals scored in the tournament. The girls won Pool C with two wins and one draw, gaining an extra point in penalty shuffles. Five boys and five girls went on to England trials for U16 and U18 age groups.

Nomination to Talent Academy is managed centrally by England Hockey.

The next nomination window opens in November 2025.

Talent Academy Process

1. Your child is nominated by their club, school or County to trial for a Talent Academy and you have selected HWHC.

2. We invite players to attend up to three Open Assessment sessions.

3. After the Open Assessment sessions we will send a feedback letter via email. Please allow 3 days for feedback.

There are two outcomes following trials:

A) Coaches have not selected this player for Talent Academy.

B) Coaches would like this player to attend trials in August/September for the 2026-27 Talent Academy cycle. These trials include 2025-26 age eligible TA players, alongside those successful in the Open Assessment phase.

Open Assessment Dates

Sunday 4th January 2026

Time: 2pm - 6pm

Location: Paddington Recreation Ground

Cost: £36

Monday 20th April 2026

Monday 27th April 2026

Monday 11th May 2026

Monday 18th May 2026

Monday 1st June 2026

Monday 8th June 2026

Time: 7pm - 9pm

Location: Paddington Recreation Ground

Cost: £18 per session

Trials for 2025-26 have now closed. Please see the Open Assessment page for details of the next trial window.

Trials for 2026-27 will take place w/c 24th August 2026.

HWHC TA Provisional 2025-26 Schedule v2 1-Sep.xlsx
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2025/26 Provisional Fixture Dates:

Sunday 14th December 2025

Sunday 11th January 2026

Sunday 8th February 2026

Sunday 19th April 2026

Sunday 3rd May 2026

Sunday 21st June 2026

Sunday 28th June 2026

Sunday 5th July 2026

Sunday 12th July 2026

Sunday 19th July 2026

All Talent Academy players are invited on tour over Easter weekend, normally departing Thursday before Good Friday and returning on Easter Monday.

In 2023 the girls went to Valencia, in 2024 & 2025 the boys and girls went to Holland.

Paddington Recreation Ground

Maida Vale, London W9 1PD

Transport: Maida Vale tube (5 mins walk)

Parking: There is a car park at Paddington Recreation Ground. The entrance is on Carlton Vale. The car park charges on weekdays and weekends. You can park for free on residential roads surrounding the park from 6.30pm on weeknights and any time at the weekend. Morshead Road and Grantully Road are close to park gates.

Paddington Recreation Ground Map.pdf
Download

Talent Academy membership fees are for the full cycle, September 2025 - July 2026.

Financial support is available for any players who need assistance. It’s really important that we are aware of any financial support that is needed so please don’t hesitate to get in touch: HWHCTalentAcademy@outlook.com

HWHC TA 2025-26 Fees.pdf
Download

TA kit is provided by Hawkin Sport and parents will receive a link to the order page.

Playing kit

All players need:

Sky blue playing shirt

Shorts/skort

Sky blue socks

If players are unable to purchase kit, they are able to borrow a set for the season.

Shirt numbers

These are provided by the TA.

Away shirts

The men’s purple shirt and ladies navy tank are optional.

Away socks

The team wears navy socks if sky blue is a colour clash with another team. Any plain navy hockey socks are fine.

Quarter Zip

The quarter zip top is optional.

Goalkeepers

Option of either black or red. GKs selected for the festival in July will need both colours.

The TA Cup is the culmination of each cycle. The event takes place at the end of July at Nottingham Hockey Centre.

Players take part in three matches across three days against other TAs. National Age Group scouts attend for the opportunity to take players forward to England trials.

18 players from each TA squad are selected to take part: 16 outfield players and 2 goalkeepers.

The age requirements are as follows:

U14 (Year 9) : No more than 2

U15 (Year 10) : No less than 4

U16 (Year 11) : No less than 5

U17 (Year 12) : No more than 5

U18 (Year 13) : No more than 2