The clubs want to grow. However, more players – particularly at children’s and junior level – also means a need for more coaches who are able to do both: engage with the children and juniors, and deliver exciting and high-quality training sessions. In many clubs, mums and dads who used to play hockey themselves step in to help, drawing on their skills and knowledge from back in the day. Or older juniors (e.g. 14–18 coaches) who put their acquired knowledge into practice.

But our amateur coaches often reach their limits:

• What skills do we need to teach the children and juniors?
• How can we make the training more structured?
• Which exercises make it more exciting for the children and juniors and add variety?

These and many other questions are bound to crop up in the life of an amateur coach. And yes, you can complete the J&S field hockey courses and gain further qualifications. But with children and a job on the side, these rather time-consuming J&S courses are hardly feasible.

And this is where Swiss Hockey’s BMC programme comes in:

• Short (max. ½ day), on-site or nearby – no need to stay overnight.
• Practical (exercises, exercises, exercises)
• Highly qualified: led by professional coaches (coaches of the national and regional teams)
• Tailored to the target group of amateur coaches (no prior specialist knowledge required)
• Immediately applicable (self-contained sessions) for your own training at the club.

“With the BMC, the association aims to support clubs in developing their mums, dads and junior coaches – in a pragmatic, fun yet highly professional way,” said Punleuk Kam, Managing Director of Swiss Hockey. “I am particularly pleased that, for the BMC, we have been able to secure not only our well-known coaches from the national and regional teams, but also Jair Levie, our men’s national team coach and Head of Elite Sport. This means participants can really learn from the very best.”

The first BMC sessions will take place on the following dates:

• September: 27th – in Olten
• October: 17th & 24th – in Zurich (Hardturm)
• November: 28th & 29th – both in Olten

Further dates to follow. All courses take place from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. The cost per participant is CHF 100 per course. The minimum number of participants is 6. If there are more than 6 participants, the cost per participant is reduced accordingly. Swiss Hockey is accepting registrations and enquiries at info@swisshockey.org. The same rule applies here: first come, first served.