Ice Hockey UK Interim CEO Tim Bratton explains the background to the GB Futures Programme…
Last week, we announced the GB Futures squad who will represent Great Britain next month in Estonia.
We are often asked what GB Futures is and how it works and I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain this.
GB Futures is what we used to call U16 Boys. The name reflects the squad – a squad of exceptional emerging GB talent, some of who we hope will go on to represent GB at older age-group and senior GB level.
At IHUK we partner with the UK Ice Hockey Foundation to operate the GB Futures programme. The programme is funded by both IHUK and the Foundation.
IHUK provide the financial funding for the programme and the Foundation provides the teams with unprecedented access, at no cost, to what is undeniably a pool of world-class coaches.
It’s a formidable programme and with the significant support of the Foundation is enabling IHUK to invest in British talent.
We recognise that the clubs our U16s play for also play a significant role in their development and we are grateful to them for their hard work developing our players.
The Foundation is working closely with clubs up and down Great Britain to share expertise on coach development which in turn positively impacts player development.
So, in a nutshell, that’s what GB Futures is. It’s the junior age group for our GB Programme, very much a part of IHUK and delivered for us by the Foundation.
I personally think it is the template for how to run a world-class junior programme. We have more to do, of course. Our talented girls will benefit from a similar programme.
And following the merger, we are already looking at how our England and Scotland programmes should best operate, both to fulfil a pipeline role and also to give players the opportunity to experience competitive hockey in different environments.
In the meantime, good luck to the players, coaches and staff who are travelling to Estonia next month.
Whatever the outcome, we know that the boys involved in the Cardiff pre-camp, as well as those travelling to Estonia, are all taking important steps on their hockey development journey.
