Hockey Inner City

Epsom College has partnered with Hockey Inner City to provide pupils from London state schools and local Hockey Clubs with coaching and use of the College's facilities including our Olympic-grade waterbased astro.

Aims

We welcomed 66 pupils from London state schools and local hockey clubs to take part in a coaching masterclass held by current GB stars Tess Howard and Rhys Smith.

The event was organised by Hockey Inner City, a new venture set up to improve accessibility to hockey for children from backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in the sport.

Together with Epsom’s Director of Hockey, Rhys and Tess worked with the children on shooting, dribbling and elimination, defending and ball control.

The 90-minute session – which took place on Epsom’s new water-based surface – was a huge success, and plans are now in place to expand the event to reach even more young people in the Lent Term.

Background

Epsom College has been a longtime sponsor of Surbiton Hockey Club. Discussions had been ongoing between College and club about the ways we could add value and provide benefit to the local community.

Rhys Smith, a GB International, contacted Epsom via Surbiton seeking support for his Hockey Inner City project.

The project's aims - to make hockey accessible to children from backgrounds underrepresented in the sport - aligned to Epsom's own values and the partnership began in 2019.

Resources

Epsom's Director of Hockey and England & GB international supported the initiative and provided use of the College's Olympic-grade water-based astro. This is a £15m surface and is rare at schools in south east England.

In addition, Epsom provided free use of school transport, plus drivers, to collect and drop off pupils to their schools in south west London.

While at Epsom, the pupils used all sporting facilities, had a tour of the College, and were provided free food and drink.

The following GB international players provided masterclasses on Shooting, Dribbling & Elimination, Defending and Ball Control:
 
Tess Howard (23 Caps)
Will Calnan (12 Caps)
Jack Waller (18 Caps)
Rhys Smith (6 Caps)

Pupil Involvement

66 pupils took part, all were secondary school age. A mixture of boys and girls.