At Sedbergh, we don’t just play hockey – we build hockey players for the future. Hockey development begins in our Prep School and continues seamlessly into the Senior School. Through a long-term athlete development (LTAD) approach, we focus on growing your Hockey IQ, sharpening decision-making, and developing the whole player. For those with the talent and drive to go further, we offer bespoke, individualised programmes designed to elevate performance. With national-standard facilities and cutting-edge AI video technology, every training session is a chance to level up. If you’re serious about your hockey, there’s no better place to take your game to the next stage.
Hockey at Sedbergh
Hockey at Sedbergh is fast-paced, competitive and bursting with opportunity. It’s one of our flagship sports, with the Michaelmas Term packed full of fixtures, and momentum continuing right through Lent. Whether you’re aiming for a place in a top university squad or just love the buzz of team competition, we deliver. Sedbergh players have earned hockey scholarships to leading US universities and thrive in a culture that champions individual development and team ambition. With 13 teams in action – seven for girls, five for boys, plus our club side in the local adult league – there’s a place for every player to grow, compete and shine.
A premier stage for world-class hockey
Our pupils take full advantage of two new all-weather Tiger Turf Evo Pro pitches, full lit with LED directional lighting. The pitches’ LED directional lighting allows pupils to train at any time of the year, and well into the evening. One pitch is also equipped with a state of the art Spiideo camera system comprised of 4 surrounding cameras which can both stream match play and be used for live analysis by coaches on the field. For indoor training we utilise the state-of-the-art facilities of the Hirst Centre; part of the sporting hub that seamlessly integrates indoor training and the gym with outdoor sessions.
Development
The overall health and fitness of our players are enhanced by a hockey-specific, customised strength and conditioning programme, overseen by former Argentinian national hockey player Flor Zappula and accredited strength and conditioning coach, Andrew Leech.
Pupils at Sedbergh have numerous opportunities to train and play throughout the year. A minimum of three 90 minute sessions each week to train, with matchplay twice weekly (Wednesday and Saturday) during the season. This is augmented with an early morning session, a Hockey specific S&C session and 1 to 1 trainings in the sixth form. During the summer months an extra session runs on a Thursday to keep skills fresh.
Most afternoons, our teams can be found practising or playing in regular fixtures against other schools, including the top hockey schools in the country, as well as clubs and universities. Players training with local and national performance teams are supported when traveling to coaching sessions. Additionally, our sixth form pupils have the opportunity to access individual coaching sessions to enhance their technical skills.
We field 13 outdoor teams: including girls 1st, 2nd, 3rd, U16, U15a, U15b, U14a, U14b and boys 1st, 2nd , U16, U15, U14.
International talent
We have a strong reputation for helping to develop and improve talent from across the world. In recent years we have had pupils from Germany, Kenya, Chile and Australia attend the school to improve their games. In 2023 Carla Degenhardt represented Germany at U16 level while attending Sedbergh.
Nick Davey, Director of Hockey
“I love the sport and I love being on a pitch, working with teams and watching them change and hopefully build confidence, knowledge and experience growth. I’m looking to be a guide; I want to be able to signpost for them the choices and the opportunities that they have, although ultimately they’ve got to take those opportunities themselves. Something that I probably look to try and do in the majority of my sessions or in matches is to give the players that security and that safety to go and play.”
“Ultimately, I want any person who leaves Sedbergh to have…really enjoyed hockey and that they want to continue to play it, to leave with a positive memory that they take forward into the rest of their life.”
“Whether that’s just through being part of a fantastic team that really supported them, whether it’s that they love the sport and want it to drive them to another level or if it’s just quite simply that they felt that they really benefited from the time spent doing something that was enjoyable, that was athletic and that gave them a sense of confidence and a sense of wellbeing.”
“I think if some of those aims are being met most of the time, then the sessions will probably be going pretty well and the players will be walking off feeling like it was a worthwhile part of their day that they’ve really enjoyed. Some players love being stretched, they love being challenged, knowing them individually and being able to work out which players require which. When you get that right, that can really feed that feeling of exactly why I’m out there and, what we’re trying to achieve.”
“Whether it’s being brave or having freedom and creativity, or at least to not worry about the fact that it might go wrong. We want all of our pupils here to play with as little, or zero, fear of failure or of making mistakes. We want them to feel that the coaches, their teammates, everybody at the school are going to completely back and support them.” Nick Davey, Director of Hockey
