Egremont Rangers' head of youth development, John Wells, is justly proud of his young players. Two rising stars, James Mcdonald and Jared Steward, have been selected for the England Under 16 squad, following in the footsteps of John Paul Brocklebank, who was Vice Captain of the GB 2008 team that toured Australia this summer, and Rees Davis and Richard Farrer, who have represented Great Britain Under 23s.
James’s father, Ian , Macca to all who knew him, would be so proud of his achievement. Only two months ago we reported that James had climbed the Three Peaks in the company of all the other Cragrats in his dad's memory for the benefit of the British Heart Foundation.
James and Jared will be part of the squad of twenty-four players from whom the team to face France next summer will be selected. This squad will eventually be reduced to twenty in a rigorous selection process that will assess them on core skills, attitude and mentality, and they will be carefully watched in a series of games for England this year. They have both already represented Copeland and played for the North West Regional team against opposition from all over the country.
John, who has himself recently been named Copeland and Eden Coach of the year, was delighted when he heard the news of their selection. "Their success reflects the club's professional approach and says a lot about the tradition and foundation of the club and the clear focus of club chairman, John Brocklebank, on raising standards. But we’re not just about winning cups or producing top class players. All our coaches work very hard at building confidence in the many young players who train with us week in, week out. We try to make sure that all enjoy themselves as they progress and they all have their own individual improvement plan. We try to give the kids positive messages. Months of hard work can be ruined by one negative comment"
Many of the young players progress through the ranks to the first team, which kicked of with a victory, an example for the Under 14s and Under 16s when they face the stern opposition of Wath Brow Hornets on September 28th.