WOTTON-under-Edge are celebrating the selection of three young players to the Junior Regional Performance Centres squads which is a pathway towards national recognition with England Hockey.

Henry Patteson, in the boys under-18s squad, Lauren Jones, with the girls under-16s, and boys under-15s player Hayden Brewer have all been chosen to join the JRPC intake.

Wotton-under-Edge Hockey Club chairman Stuart Emms said: “As a community based club, we are passionate about providing sporting opportunities for all ages and abilities, but running parallel to that we are also able to offer the ‘player pathway’ into higher levels of senior hockey for the more gifted younger players.

“So, in this regard, we are very proud that these homegrown players have been recognised in this way, but it is also testament to their own desire, hard work and the support of their clubmates and their families.”

England Hockey’s ‘single system’ player pathway tracks strong and talented players, guiding them from one level to the next with coaching, tournaments and inter-county match play.

At the heart of the system – which the incredibly successful Olympic hockey players would have followed – are the JRPCs.

These are training centres for the U15, U16, U17 and U18 players across the West of England who have successfully come through assessment from Junior Academy Centre (JAC) via their counties.

Each season Wotton Hockey Club proposes certain players to start at the JAC level. If successful, those young players go on up through the training ranks, with their eventual goal being to represent England in the age group squads.

The club have sent commiserations to those who did not make the cut, and also to Michael Buist whose injury prevented him from proceeding in the U18s category.

For the successful trio, however, they go onto further assessments which, at the end of the process, will see the best 18-20 players in each age group will represent the Wessex Leopards in the U18/U16 Futures Cup or will attend the U15/U17 High Performance Centre, from there England age group squads are selected.