Annabel M is a state school player who has been in Hockey Mentors for just over a year, attending the HPP/JI training programmes and competing for Hockey Mentors in the domestic/internationals competitions programme.

Friday 14th August 2026 – Day 1

10am: Woke up and started getting ready and prepping for the outdoor High Performance Camp at Clifton. I rolled, stretched and packed my bags, making sure I had all the correct kit. I definitely didn’t want to arrive and realise I’d forgotten something important 😂

11am: Had a late breakfast and fuelled up on yoghurt and fruit. I also packed some snacks for the 3 hour journey. Before leaving, I checked in with one of my teammates on a call to make sure neither of us had forgotten anything.

3pm: We loaded all our suitcases, bags and hockey sticks into the car and finally got on the road. We drove for about an hour before hitting some pretty awful traffic on the M25. Pretty standard! I watched the pre-camp videos sent by Coach Ollie Keenan, which were really helpful and gave us a good idea of the theme and what to expect from this particular camp.

6:40pm: Arrived at the hotel and checked in. We were staying at the same hotel as last time, so at least we knew where everything was! I quickly got changed and headed out for dinner with my Hockey Mentors friend Annabelle at a really nice Turkish restaurant. The food was SO good!

10pm: Got back from dinner and laid out all my kit ready for the first day so I was prepared. I set my alarm for 8.30am, ready for another busy morning.

Saturday 15th August 2026 – Day 2

8.15am: My mum and sister had already left because she was in the earlier session. I was really excited for her because it was her first camp and I couldn’t wait to see how she was getting on.

9.15am:  Headed downstairs for breakfast – had some pastries and fruit.

9:45am: Went to Sainsbury’s to grab some pasta and fruit for lunch. I knew Jack would be happy if he saw what I was eating 😂

10:45am: Arrived at Clifton School, which has some amazing facilities, including two astros and a clubhouse with an all important vending machine. We all got our new HPP (High Performance Programme) tops for the upcoming season, and they looked really nice! I saw loads of my hockey mentors friends who I hadn’t seen for a while which was so nice and we then we headed over to the pitches for our morning session. Obviously, I knew exactly where I was going because I had checked the schedule (yes I had Jack 😜)

1pm: Finished our morning session and headed for lunch. We had an hour to eat and then an hour of off-pitch work. We talked about high transfers and then did a Q&A session with Mila Welch, a current international goalkeeper, which was really interesting and gave us loads to think about. The off pitch sessions are always really fun and useful and range from tactical chats to making silly TikTok videos!

3pm: Headed back out for the final two hours of day 1. We did loads of fun drills and, because shooting at goal was the theme of the camp, there was obviously plenty of shooting🎯 We finished the afternoon with a big group cool-down.

6pm: Got back to the hotel and had a quick shower before heading out for sushi for dinner. Another delicious dinner!

9pm: Back at the hotel for a much needed sleep. I was definitely ready for bed after a full day of hockey, but there was still another big day ahead! I was excited for the tournament which normally happens at the end of camp and is such good fun and where you get to put what you have learnt in to practice.

Sunday 16th August 2026 – Day 3

7:30am: Tried to have a lie-in but that plan lasted about five seconds because my sister woke me up while she was getting ready for Day 2 of camp 😂

9:30am: Went down to breakfast and had some fruit and toast to fuel up. We refilled our water bottles, added some electrolytes for extra rehydration and got everything ready before heading to the pitches.

10:30am: Arrived for Day 2, signed in and headed to Pitch 2 for our 11am start. Today was much more focused on gameplay situations, but we still did some mini drills to warm up and get ready for the afternoon tournament. We had different coaches this time which was good because then you get exposed to lots of different coaching styles and can pick up new tips.

1pm: Had more pasta for lunch – definitely fuelling up on those carbs. Then at 2pm we had another off-pitch session. This one was all about teamwork and getting to know each other better, which was really good because we were all working together on the pitch afterwards.

3pm: Headed back down to Pitch 2, where we had played in the morning. We split into three teams and warmed up together before getting ready for an 11-a-side, three-way tournament. I played for the blue team and we actually won overall in the matches! Unfortunately, we lost on shuffles, which was a bit painful after playing so well. We used power play throughout the games which meant that when you called power play, 3 of the opposition team had to leave the pitch for 3 minutes. This meant we had to use it tactically and at the right time and it really gave us a lot to think about on the pitch. We learnt throughout the games how to use it more effectively. It also made us change formation/think about how to adapt our team’s play when the power play was called against us.

5pm: Wrapped up camp and the coaches handed out trophies and awards. We said goodbye to everyone and thanked all the coaches for such an amazing camp. It had been two really busy days but I’d had so much fun!

5:15pm: Jumped back into the car and started the journey home. Thankfully, it was definitely quicker on the way back! I was pretty tired by then, but really happy after another brilliant weekend of Hockey Mentors with great people and loads of hockey. 🏑

 

Positives from the camp:

  • Great coaching with really top class/international coach and loads of things learnt to take away and put in to practice in my other hockey environments.
  • 🤝Amazing Hockey Mentors culture and a really positive atmosphere.
  • 🎯Lots and lots of hockey, especially shooting and gameplay.
  • 💪Great facilities and a really high standard of training.
  • 😄Loads of fun, new experiences and great memories with friends both old and new.

Negatives:

  • Too long to wait until the next camp!