The brand new season sees a revamped NextGen program to develop the following technology of Group Canada athletes
Area Hockey Canada is worked up to launch the 2025-2026 season of the NextGen program. Based mostly on suggestions from earlier years, Area Hockey Canada is adapting the supply mannequin of the NextGen program to launch in a brand new format. This follows suggestions from athletes, members and golf equipment and can allow an athlete centred, system broad strategy to athlete growth.
MEN’S REVAMPED TALENT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM | WOMEN’S NEXTGEN INFORMATION
The Area Hockey Canada NextGen Program is a expertise evaluation and growth philosophy targeted on figuring out and nurturing the following technology of performance-development athletes by collaboration with key stakeholders; athletes, dad and mom, golf equipment, Provincial Sport Organizations and Area Hockey Canada. Designed for gamers roughly 4 to eight years away from senior nationwide workforce influence, the strategy supplies a pathway to assist younger gamers attain their objectives inside area hockey.
At its core, the NextGen Program is devoted to long-term athlete assist and growth, to create a life-long affinity to the sport and giving gamers one of the best alternatives to succeed in their objectives. By way of analysis led and ideas pushed strategy athletes will obtain assist to:
Navigate the a number of and sometimes competing calls for they face as younger individuals
Particular person growth plans
Technical and tactical talent refinement
Energy and conditioning program
Psychological efficiency coaching
Vitamin and restoration schooling
This system companions with athletes, dad and mom, golf equipment and Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) to align teaching and growth ideas nationwide, enabling development for athletes by their particular person contexts and the various levels of their journey.
In 2025/26 this can be a collection of native camps run throughout Canada. Crucially, nationwide workforce teaching employees can be delivering classes, making this program distinctive and excellent amongst sports activities. NextGen Director, Andrea Gibson mentioned that her and her workforce have been locally, soliciting suggestions, and producing a program that she thinks will strike the proper steadiness between accessibility and excessive efficiency for Canadian hockey. Holding camps across the nation will enable athletes and coaches to expertise the excessive efficiency surroundings and would be the greatest for his or her growth as athletes.
“This program marks a transformative step for Canadian area hockey, uniting golf equipment, provinces, and nationwide management to assist each athlete’s distinctive journey. By prioritizing long-term progress and inclusivity, we’re constructing a stronger, extra linked system that nurtures expertise and conjures up lifelong participation throughout the nation,” Gibson mentioned. “This revitalized expertise system empowers athletes throughout Canada by aligning growth from grassroots to elite ranges.”
The up to date expertise system is particularly designed to place athlete long-term growth on the forefront, whereas additionally taking part in a vital position in strengthening the broader Canadian area hockey ecosystem by higher alignment and collaboration between the nationwide governing physique, provincial organizations, golf equipment, universities, and colleges. This alignment maximizes sources and capability directed to athletes in all layers of the system (club-province-national). The core goals of this new system are to:
Interact and maintain athletes in area hockey as life-long members
Permit athletes to develop relative to their distinctive psycho-social and physiological developmental journey, prioritizing long-term growth objectives over short-term outcomes
Present our senior nationwide groups with an ongoing aggressive depth of gamers that may assist Canada begin to see prime 10 finishes at worldwide competitions
As Area Hockey Canada refines its Expertise Improvement System this 12 months, the up to date program addresses present wants and aligns with Area Hockey Canada expertise growth ideas that acknowledge every athlete’s distinctive journey, making a extra open, accessible, and inclusive pathway nationwide.