Owen G Glenn Future Black Sticks

"Often the first time some of our talented young athletes are exposed to the rigours of international competiton is when they reach the senior level and are selected into the national squads. We must be able to give them opportunities at an earlier stage in their sporting careers to build the depth and quality of play that is required to compete and be successful on the world stage." Toni Cumpston, Hockey New Zealand High Performance Manager.


Message from Hilary Poole, Hockey New Zealand CEO
We are committed to a robust junior high performance programme that supports our young athletes. The Owen G. Glenn Future Black Sticks Programme is a long term plan to ensure we identitfy, develop and retain our talented young players throughout the country, and create a talent pool of future Black Sticks that is as broad and as deep as possible. The first major milestone for the Owen G. Glenn Future Black Sticks Programme is success at the 2013 Junior World Cup.

The new Owen G. Glenn Future Black Sticks Programme comprises both the National Under 21 and Under 18 squads.

• Under 21's: Junior Black Sticks Squads of 30, selected from performances at National Under 21 Tournament, plus other eligible athletes identified at NHL and/or National Under 18 Tournament
• Under 18's: Tiger Turf Junior Academy squads of 30, selected from performances at the National Under 18 Tournament, plus other eligible athletes identified at NHL and/or National 21 Tournament

The programme is many faceted, designed to not only develop hockey skills and athletic ability but to provide athlete's with the opportunities to gain valuable international experience:

• The initial focus of the programme is on individual athlete development, conducted through the Regional Talent Programmes under the direction of the National Coaches and National Service Providers.
• This individual athlete development is designed to prepare players physically and technically for the Junior Programmes Development Camps. Details of these camps are as follows: U21 Auckland, 16-19 September 2011; U18 Christchurch, 14-17 October 2011.
• These four day camps will be run by the national coaches of the Owen G.Glenn Future Black Sticks Programme: U21 Men - Grant Edwards; U21 Women - Chris Leslie. U18 Men - Bryce Collins; U18 Women Jason Butcher.
• From these camps teams of 20 athletes (20 men and 20 women) will be selected to compete in their respective planned international competitions.