Player Pathways.

At Bay of Plenty Hockey Association, we are dedicated to supporting players at every stage of their hockey journey. This page outlines the diverse development opportunities available for athletes across all skill levels, from beginners building foundational skills to advanced players seeking elite competition and specialized training. Our programs are designed to foster growth, enhance performance, and nurture a lifelong passion for the sport.

Primary and Intermediate Age Group.

Development opportunities for players while at Primary and Intermediate School are catered for by local sub-associations. These opportunities include development programmes and tournaments. For more information please contact your local sub-association for details.

Under 16 - National Tournament and Festival.

2026 will see the introduction of a national U16 tournament in addition to an U16 Festival for Development teams. This will be the first opportunity for players at Secondary School to play in a BOP representative side.

The U16 age group has an important place within the development of young players, as they enter the ‘train to develop’ stage. Children become capable of implementation of feedback and the foundation of all basic skill is cemented. Players will need to keep polishing basic techniques and need to be challenged with more complex techniques and decision making to further their development. Players in the ‘train to develop’ stage need to learn to train more deliberate and need to start making the translation from training to games. To help make that translation, practice games, tournaments and festivals become significant tools that allow to deliberately prioritize participation, development and growth.

Talent and early ability at this age are no guarantees for future success. Taking late bloomers and the relative age effect into account, BOPHA aims to provide more players at this age an opportunity for holistic development. Players will still need to show commitment and the appropriate attitude to be part of these programmes. Players will need to demonstrate the physical and technical abilities that are required to keep up with the desired level of the program.

Under 18 - National Tournament.

For the U18 age group the training focus shifts from ‘train to develop’ to ‘train to compete’. Athletes enter this stage based on individual commitment and performance results, as well as having achieved the objectives of the ‘train to develop’ stage. They participate in high-intensity individual-, event- and position-specific training within a high-quality training environment. Athletes will now have to learn to perform skills under a variety of competitive conditions and will be challenged to compete at a national level to develop competition skills and abilities. Although winning games is a pursuable goal, the focus during games and tournaments must still see development and growth go over winning!

Due to the relevance of competition at the ‘train to compete’ stage and the ambition to have meaningful and competitive competition, BOPHA will select an U18 team to represent Bay of Plenty during practice games, competition and/or at tournaments. A major part of competitive and performance sports is learning to deal with set backs and setting realistic goals and expectations. BOPHA expects all selected players to participate in games (including finals) but does not expect players to be given equal minutes.

Through the National U18 tournament players have the opportunity to be selected for higher representative honours, including Mavericks Under 18 (introduced for the first time in 2025) and Future Black Sticks Camps. Selection to these sides is made by Mavericks or HNZ personnel, feedback from Representative Coaches and BOPHA CoachForce Officer will be considered in these selections alongside performance at the National Under 18 Tournament.

National Hockey Championship.

Bay of Plenty enters teams into the National Hockey Championship on an annual basis. This provides our Senior players with an opportunity to play at the annual tournament. NHC provides an opportunity for players wishing to earn selection for the franchise Junior Hockey League and Premier Hockey League sides as well as for National sides.

Other opportunities.

Other Hockey opportunities exist for players wishing to play more. These include The Hockey Experience, National Maori tournament and National Indian tournaments. These are not official Hockey NZ events and as such will not form the basis of selection into Hockey NZ programmes, they will however provide opportunities for players looking for more Hockey.

BAY OF PLENTY HOCKEY ASSOCIATION PLAYER PATHWAY.

PREPARING OUR BEST AND GROWING FOR TOMORROW

WE AIM TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY SUPPORT AND TRAINING ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR PLAYERS, MAXIMISING OUR RESOURCES FOR THE HERE AND NOW WHILE CONTINUING TO BUILD FOR TOMORROW.

  • PATHWAY INFLUENCE

    • SECONDARY SCHOOLS
    • INTERMEDIATE & JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT
    • CLUB & SCHOOL HOCKEY
    • SMALL STICKS / FUN STICKS

  • PERFORMANCE IMPROVE

    • BAY OF PLENTY UNDER 18
    • BAY OF PLENTY UNDER 18 DEVELOPMENT
    • SCHOOL 1ST XI & SENIOR CLUBS
    • LOCAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENT (LTE)

  • HIGH PERFORMANCE IMPACT

    • BAY OF PLENTY NHC TEAMS
    • MAVERICKS UNDER 18’S
    • MAVERICKS JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
    • NZ UNDER 21
    • NZA
    • BLACKSTICKS
    • REGIONAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENT (RTE)

Balance is better.

  • What is Balance is Better?​

    Balance is Better underpins Sport New Zealand’s ​overall approach to youth sport. Hockey NZ is one ​of 15 sports across NZ that signed a “Statement of Intent” with Sport New Zealand to ensure there are quality opportunities for all participants.  ​

    Balance is Better is to help bring the focus back to why young people play sport – to have fun, be challenged, develop and improve, be part of a team or group, and enjoy time with friends. ​

    The Balance is Better campaign also hopes to address the 3 Myths of Youth Sport

  • What are the 3 Myths of Youth Sport? ​

    Myth 1: Early Specialisation is good ​

    Reality: This can lead to athlete burn-out and overuse injuries. ​​

    Myth 2: Childhood success leads to adult success​

    Reality: Children develop at different rates mentally and physically, some much later in their teenage years. Meaning that success in childhood is not an indicator of success in adulthood.​

    ​Myth 3: Successful athletes focus on winning ​

    Reality: This is a problem for young people, it is a chance to develop mentally, develop coping mechanisms and it could affect their overall motivation to take part. ​

  • What are the reason kids are dropping out?​

    Kids are speaking with their feet. National data shows that too many young New Zealanders, especially in their teenage years are walking away from sport.​

    While there are a variety of reasons kids leave sport, Sport NZ have identified the main issues contributing to declining participation rates:​

    • Specialising too early in one sport​

    • Being expected to play like professionals​

    • Believing that you have make the top team or rep’ team​

    • Adult pressure to “be the best” and not make mistakes ​

  • What is Bay of Plenty Hockey doing?​

    Bay of Plenty Hockey Association is committed to ensuring all young people who play Hockey receive a quality experience, irrespective of the level at which they are involved. We will work with our parents, whanau, managers, coaches, and volunteers to make sure our kids can develop in a fun and safe environment. We acknowledge the importance of keeping fun in the game, prioritising sport participation and nurturing talent at the right pace. ​

    For more information:​

    Please check out the Keep up with the Play or Balance is Better websites.