HOCKEY HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS

by Pere Fornes

SquareOne Sports

Scottish Hockey plans to make all senior players full-time by 2011, SquareOne News can reveal.

It is a key point of Scottish Hockey’s corporate strategy in a long term plan between 2008 and 2014, which also includes raising coaching standards and a development programme for umpires. The main aim is to focus Scottish Hockey’s resources to build a team capable of winning a medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Callum McLeod, Scottish Hockey’s Performance Manager, said: “The world’s best countries, such as Germany, have full time players so our aim is to be at their level of performance.”

If the strategy is successful, Scotland would have full-time hockey players three years before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and one year before the London 2012 Olympics. In the Olympics, however, Scottish players will play in the Great Britain team and Scottish Hockey is working to ensure that there is integration with Great Britain Olympic programming.

The down side of the London Olympics is the reduction of lottery funding that sports will directly receive, funding that has already declined over the past years. McLeod added: “Now we receive less money from the government and we need more money to improve players' performance as well as to have better qualified coaches and umpires. What we are trying to do to achieve our goals is to get more sponsorship.”

If successful, the strategy could put Scottish hockey at the same level as other leading countries, therefore boosting participation and interest.

Find out more about scottish hockey at www.scottish-hockey.org.uk