By David Ellcock

In a recent Hockey Paper piece, I suggested that people should just try umpiring and that this might lead to their getting the bug and wanting to take the next step. But what does that next step look like? It’s nothing like as daunting as you might think.

England Hockey encourage people to try umpiring at club level, whether this is at training, during friendlies and pre-season matches, or even at junior events. The last option might be the best place to start as England Hockey have made it clear that absolutely no official umpiring accreditation is required to help with either Quicksticks or In2Hockey. Training for these formats can be accessed in the ‘Teachers’ section of the HockeyHub. There are umpiring guides and videos that will help you on your way in either format.