Sedbergh School announces new international hockey partnership with Hockey Akademie
New partnership will bring talented young hockey players from across Germany to Sedbergh for specialist residential training camps.
Sedbergh School is delighted to announce an exciting new international partnership with Hockey Akademie, which will see talented young hockey players from across Germany travel to Cumbria for a programme of intensive residential hockey camps.
The partnership brings together Sedbergh’s outstanding sporting and boarding environment with Hockey Akademie’s established programme of specialist hockey development, creating opportunities for ambitious young players from different German clubs to train, compete and experience life at one of the UK’s leading sporting schools.
The programme will be supported by Nick Davey, Director of Hockey at Sedbergh School, alongside coaches from Hockey Akademie, with further camps planned for Easter and Summer 2027.
Building on a successful inaugural camp
The partnership follows a successful inaugural camp at Sedbergh at the end of August 2026, when 18 young hockey players and two coaches from Germany spent four nights at the School.
The players immersed themselves in an intensive programme of hockey development, with up to eight hours each day dedicated to training, technical development, match play, analysis and preparation.
Sedbergh has invested significantly in its hockey provision, including two floodlit, all-weather TigerTurf pitches. Hockey is one of the School’s flagship sports, with 13 teams and a development programme focused on improving Hockey IQ, decision-making and individual performance.
More than hockey training
The inaugural Hockey Akademie camp was designed to offer much more than training alone.
On the penultimate day, the visiting players and coaches were given a taste of the wider Sedbergh experience. Following a morning of team-building activities, the group walked up Winder, overlooking the School and the surrounding Yorkshire Dales landscape, before returning to the pitch to test themselves against opposition, North West Hockey.
Nick Davey, Director of Hockey at Sedbergh School, said:
“We are incredibly excited about this partnership and what it can offer young hockey players from Germany. Sedbergh has always believed that sport is about far more than simply what happens during a training session or a match. It is about challenging yourself, developing confidence, learning to work as part of a team and creating experiences and friendships that stay with you.
“The first camp was a fantastic few days. The players arrived ready to work hard and fully embraced both the intensity of the hockey programme and everything else Sedbergh has to offer. It was particularly special for them to climb Winder and see the School and our surroundings from a completely different perspective.
“Germany has an outstanding hockey tradition and we are looking forward to developing this relationship, sharing ideas between coaches and welcoming many more talented young German players to Sedbergh in 2027 and beyond.
“It is particularly exciting that, following their experience with us, a number of players are now exploring the opportunity to join Sedbergh as full-time boarders, combining their studies with the chance to continue developing their hockey within our programme.
“That is a natural extension of this partnership: creating a pathway for ambitious young players who want to develop academically, personally and as athletes within the unique environment that Sedbergh offers.”
About Hockey Akademie
Hockey Akademie provides specialist hockey training and international hockey experiences for young players, including individual technical development, goalkeeper coaching and opportunities for players to train and compete in England.
Its programmes connect young players with experienced hockey coaches and provide opportunities to experience different sporting and cultural environments.
Stefan Saliger of Hockey Akademie said:
“From the moment we arrived at Sedbergh, we knew that we had found a very special environment for our players. The quality of the hockey facilities and coaching is excellent, but what makes Sedbergh particularly exciting for us is the complete experience it can offer young people.
“Our players were able to train intensively, live together as a team, experience English boarding-school life and compete against English players, while also enjoying the extraordinary landscape surrounding the School.
“We want our young players to become better hockey players, but we also want them to become more confident and independent young people. Sedbergh shares that philosophy and we are delighted to be developing this partnership further.
“After such a successful first visit, we are already looking forward to returning in 2027.”
Looking ahead to 2027
The partnership reflects Sedbergh School’s growing international sporting connections and its ambition to create opportunities for young people from around the world to experience its distinctive combination of high-performance sport, boarding, outdoor education and character development.
Further Hockey Akademie camps at Sedbergh are planned for Easter 2027 and Summer 2027, building on the success of the inaugural August programme and establishing Sedbergh as an important UK base for Hockey Akademie’s developing international programme.
