Irish team mates Ashley Givan and Sam Hanley
Following a demanding domestic season at Junior and Cadet level, the Irish squad has been announced for the forthcoming European Youth Championships which takes place in Prague, Czech Republic from the 9th to the 18th July, 2009.
Ireland will be represented by 3 teams:
Junior Boys – Paul McCreery, Sam Hanley, Ashley Robinson
Junior Girls – Claire Nelson, Rebecca Kenny, Ashley Givan
Cadet Boys – Stephen Slater, Declan O’Brien
Commenting on the squad announcement, ITTA Technical Director John O’Donoghue stated that this is the strongest Irish Youth squad in some years:
“This year, the selection process was for the coaches very tough, the players who made it on to the squad are to be commended for their commitment, workrate and ability…The aim in 2009 is to continue to improve our standing at this level, indeed it is a measure of our progress that we have decided to enter all players into both the Team and the Individual events. We would certainly hope for a top half finish, particularly from the Junior Boys who are very strong.”
As part of the elite Cadet programme, Stephen Slater and Declan O’Brien travelled to Halmstad, Sweden to take part in a cadet training camp under the direction of Senior Men’s Coach, Peter Nillson – this should help these promising young players prepare for the tests that await at European level.
This event will be covered on ETTU TV, click here for promotional clip.
The draw for the Team event has taken place and is as follows:
Jnr Boys: Slovenia, Switzerland, Azerbaijan
Jnr Girls: Estonia, Netherlands, Belgium
Cadet Boys: Norway, Portugal, Cyprus, Finland
Check out the ITTA website for further updates as the tournament progresses.