YOUNG hockey players in Moray could benefit from a new Scottish Hockey performance initiative

The sport's governing body in Scotland has launched the BRAVE performance blueprint, aiming to develop a culture of excellence for hockey in this country.

The project has a long-term goal to bring consistent international success for Scotland by playing in future World Cups and Commonwealth Games, as well as having senior and junior teams regularly competing amongst the top six in Europe and a high representation of Scottish athletes in GB programmes.

At local level, Moray is represented by Quasar Hockey Club while Aberdeen clubs and Ellon fly the flag for the Grampian area and Highland covers the north.

Scottish Hockey’s Head of Performance, Andy Tennant, said good work is already being carried out in the sport across Scotland.

"In consultation with our national high performance and pathway coaches, we have identified a distinctly Scottish style, and our vision is very much about being the best we can be - and a good “us” rather than a poor imitation of someone else," he said.

"Ultimately, we want Scotland teams to play a dynamic attacking style of hockey built on efficient defence.

‘So BRAVE helps define who we are; how we want to play; how we best develop talent, and what our key coaching priorities are. If we can align all these key elements, it will give us the best chance to be successful on the world stage.’

He explained how certain qualities in playing hockey were identified to come up with the BRAVE title of the project.

"We’re looking for our players to display five key characteristics – bold, in terms of the way they approach the game in a fearless and positive way; relentless in their pursuit of excellence; accountable to themselves, teammates and the way we want to play hockey; versatile, so they’re able to adapt and play in a number of different ways; and we also need excellent decision makers – having good technical and physical skills is important but they are worthless unless backed up by good decisions.

‘We want to build a system that helps players be those five things.’

The BRAVE blueprint also recognises the principles included within the GB Hockey Talent Development Framework, which was developed in partnership with the two other home nations.

Tennant added: "Coaches need to be given the freedom to put their own stamp on things, and the last thing we’re looking to do is stifle creativity for our coaches or our players.

"We want to build a system that’s free and flexible enough for people to explore what’s within it and to develop a culture of continuous improvement.

"This isn’t about us telling anyone how they should coach, it’s about us identifying the things that are most important and discussing how we can do these things better collectively.

"We have dozens of high-quality coaches working along the pathway so it’s about engaging all of those who want be involved in this process, having strong coaching conversations and collectively moving the game forward."