Oxford Hockey Club supports and promotes England Hockey’s Talent System including implementing a Selection Policy which encourages Junior Player Development and an Equality Policy.

A Junior Player is any young person under 18 years old. All Junior players are encouraged to play at the highest level they can achieve in the Senior Section, and it is the club’s policy to actively promote and support this ambition.

Junior players in the Senior Section: Juniors must be 13 years old and be physically and psychologically ready to play in the Senior Section. This will be assessed by their Junior Coach and discussed with parents before Junior players are invited to participate.

Juniors must want to play in the Senior Section and have parental agreement.

Junior players must commit to being available for games to be selected for Senior Section matches and are expected to take part in all match day activities including match teas after the game has finished.

Parents of Junior players must take responsibility for updating general player availability, at least 7 days in advance of a fixture, and direct with the Team Captain if there is a problem on match day.

U16 players may elect to play just for the Senior Section but must pay a Senior Section subscription.

The club will appoint a Junior monitoring panel in each Section to regularly assess the progress of each Junior player (playing in the Senior Section) and ensure they are playing in the appropriate Senior Section team.

Senior Section training sessions: Junior players should regularly attend the relevant Senior Section training session and be available for selection in Senior Section matches.

Where training sessions clash, the Junior player should attend the session at the highest level for their ability as advised by their Junior Coach.

Juniors are expected to take Senior Section training seriously, to listen and learn.

U16 players are encouraged to attend Senior Section training as well as Junior Section training.

Junior players selected by the first three Senior teams will normally train with that team unless they are also selected for the Junior Academy. Juniors should consult with their Junior Coach and Senior captain as to which session should take priority.

Transition to 11-a-side matches with the Senior Section: Development teams and the Oxfordshire Development League are also used to introduce Junior players to the 11-a-side game, with Senior players on the pitch to help coach positional and tactical play.