Banner image

Author

Joel Osborne

writes

Posted Thursday, March 14th 2019

Young Flyers selected for England Talent Programme

Thursday, March 14th 2019

Two young Bristol Flyers stars have been selected for the 2019 England Talent Programme.

Louie Tucker and Jason Soodeen, who both represent the Flyers Under-16s, have been named in the the 34-man squad, which is made up from top prospects at Under-14 and Under 15 level.

Players have been selected primarily through their involvement in the Aspire Programme or England Development Programme levels of the Basketball England Talent Pathway. In each of the 10 basketball regions across the country, Basketball England have a Regional Talent Manager whose role it is to support, track and refer players for selection to England Talent Programmes.

Tucker and Soodeen will begin their England Talent Programme journey over the Easter break at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester.

"I am very proud of Louie and Jason for their selection to represent England," said Flyers Under-16s head Coach Ieuan Alex-Jones.

"It is a testament to their hard work and talent that they show on a weekly basis. It is fantastic that these boys are carrying on the proud tradition of Flyers players representing at the international level, these boys are a credit to themselves, their families and the club. I count myself extremely fortunate to work with such high quality people and players".

Basketball England’s Programme & Pathway Integration Manager Charlie Ford added: "Through our Regional Talent Managers and the hard work of the Aspire Programme workforce, we have selected our initial group of players that will assemble in Manchester at Easter for the first time. The group will then have the opportunity to compete in a number of tournament activities in the coming months.

"The general premise of the England Talent programme is simple. We want to provide opportunities for our players and coaches to compete against European opposition earlier and more frequently than we have previously. This will ensure that by the time we get to Great Britain Under-16 and Under-18 levels, we have players and coaches that have significant experience playing against different styles and conditions to those in our domestic National Leagues.

"I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our network of clubs and coaches who have done a fantastic job of developing these young players to the point of selection for the England Talent Programme. This cannot go unrecognised and we will be re-introducing formal accreditation of this achievement so clubs can proudly display it at their home venues."

Latest News

Also from Bristol Sport