Talent Excellence Program

Starting in 2021, the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) will implement the Talent Excellence Program (TIP). The TIP program will take place several times per season.

The goal of the Talent Excellence Program is to provide the best players in each team with the opportunity to not only work on strengthening their skills and raising their athletic level, but also to motivate our young talents to consciously strive for the highest goals, while also creating healthy, achievement-based competition within the team.

The program focuses on improving the individual skill level of young players and the training process will focus on individual skill tasks. Such training days would also promote the coming together of young talents and the exchange of experience, as these same young talents may meet in one of the national teams in the future.

In order to collect the best possible players, a quota system was used, conducting a thorough analysis of player data, in accordance with the established criteria (number of licensed hockey players and club results in the relevant age groups).

At all TIP stages, the head coach of the Latvian national team, Harijs Vītoliņš, works with the participants as the head coach. Vītoliņš is assisted in working with the young hockey players by several assistant coaches from the national teams.

In total, more than 160 children, including girls, participate in all age groups and all TIP stages annually.

In parallel with the activities of the program participants, special lectures on sports psychology, health, nutrition and other issues are organized for the parents of hockey players under the guidance of highly qualified lecturers.