Player pathway development process in ice hockey academy of Lapland

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to create an operating model for the Lapland sports academy for junior high school and high school sports academy. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association's Player Path, Leijonapolku serves as the platform for the contents of the activity and provides the core points for training for each age group. The coaching philosophy is implemented from a slightly new perspective. The utilization of player oriented coaching is increasing and players are given greater responsibility for ownership of their own training. The athlete becomes an essential part of every phase of the coaching process. The goal is to raise the level of Lappish ice hockey by raising the level of academy activities. With the help of academy activities and junior high school camps, material is produced for the clubs in the area of Lapland and with this, the sports expertise of the clubs in the entire area is expanded. From the player development point of view, the goal is to produce self directed athletes towards the national top. The coaching is guided by player-oriented coaching processes, which are implemented at a high level in cooperation with individual players. At the same time, coaching skills are being developed to get the player-oriented coaching better used all the time. The end result is an intact and comprehensive player path through the junior high school academy all the way to the end of high school academy. At the same time, a systematic way of implementing personal coaching processes is created, which increases their quality, and the individual player gets even better coaching, as well as useful support service coaching. The athletic goal is that the athletic level of those who enter the academy will rise and that academy is producing better players for local Mestis club and for national top of ice hockey.