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Alex Bell, local hockey player for Cronkbourne Bacchanalians was recently selected to play for the Pennine Pumas in the Futures Cup, a showcase of young British talent on the hockey pitch.
Alex has been working towards playing in the Futures Cup for three seasons now and has shown consolidated improvement year on year. His has attended regular training sessions at Bacchas and also additional sessions through England Hockey Single System, through which he has progressed steadily. A centre forward striker, Alex who is nearly 18 years of age is looking forward to playing hockey at university in the UK next year.
Futures Cup is the culmination of the season’s training through Single System, a regime of training implemented by England Hockey, each section of which is followed by a selection procedure. Competition for places in the Pumas was fierce, Alex being selected from the top 54 players in the whole of the north of England to create a squad of 18. The tournament was last season attended by fellow hockey player, Matthew Grice who plays for Ramsey. It is a sign of the success of hockey on the Isle of Man that these two players have managed to attain this level of achievement within the sport.
Following training in the UK, Alex contributed to a fine third place overall for the Pumas following the Futures Cup tournament played at Cannock Hockey Club over a long weekend early November. Following the tournament, Alex stated, “playing for the Pumas has been one of the best experiences of my life. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me get this far including Bacchas and IOMA, the MHA and Wi-Manx, the Sports Council, Servicetech and of course, my parents.”
The Pennine Pumas played the Mercia Lynx, the Saxon Tigers and the Wessex Leopards in the mini-league that is the Futures Cup, each match lasting a full 35 minutes a half. Every match was hard fought, but eventually, the Saxon Tigers reigned supreme following a superb display of hockey to beat the Mercia Lynx 3-1.
