Junior hockey in the Island is buoyant thanks to the talent of, and investment in developing, young players.
 
That’s the view of the Manx Hockey Association and Manx Sport and Recreation as they report on the success of juniors who have been involved in a nurturing scheme that can lead to England selection.
 
Improving young people’s participation in sport is a key target of Manx Sport and Recreation’s newly published 10-year Strategy for Sport.
 
The Island’s most promising junior hockey players enter the Single System, England Hockey’s performance pathway for players, coaches and officials.
 
Under-17s first attend development centres for the varying age groups and then an academy on the Island. From there, they are put forward to take part in tournaments in the North of England.
 
There, the players are assessed in their age groups and those who have developed most are nominated for Junior Regional Participation Centres.
 
The next level is either Hipac (under-15s) or Futures Cup (under-16s), from which England’s under 16s squad is selected.
 
Four players from the Isle of Man reached Hipac and Futures Cup this year.
 
Freya Duchars, Georgia Foxton and Will Greenbank all went to Hipac, with Tom Evans selected for the under-16s’ Futures Cup.
 
Louis Novo-Smith was selected as a reserve for the under-17s’ Futures Cup.
 
Freya and Georgia were selected to be part of the Pennine Panthers girls under-15s’ squad, which was made up of 18 girls from Manchester, Leeds and Durham.
 
Hannah Pullen, Hockey Development Officer with Manx Sport and Recreation, said: ‘Having two girls from the Island selected for this squad is a credit to them and the Island.
 
‘Will captained the Pennine Panthers team as part of the boys’ under-15s’ Hipac, which is a great achievement.
 
‘Tom reached the under-16s’ Futures Cup, which is the step before the under 16s England squad, an amazing achievement. 
 
‘He narrowly missed out on a place in the England squad but had a great experience overall and would like to thank his sponsors, Isle of Man Sport, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Kookaburra.’
 
Hannah said: ‘This year’s success, building on that of previous years, highlights the continued development of hockey as a key sport on the Island, allowing it to punch above its weight when our young players are put up against off-Island players. All the signs indicate that the sport will continue to grow in strength.’
 
Photo - Will Greenbank, Georgia Foxton, Freya Duchars and Tom Evans.