They mightn't have had the opportunity to showcase their talents on the representative stage this year, but almost 40 of the region's best young hockey players will be pushing for selection in NSW sides for next year's national championships.
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The under-15 boys and girls, boys and girls Athlete Acceleration Program field squads, and under-21 boys and girls squads were named recently and feature a host of Tamworth and New England players.
In light of the COVID pandemic and subsequent cancellation of the the State and National Championships this year, the selection process was a bit different with local associations able to nominate athletes as well as their respective regional coaching coordinators and Hockey NSW endorsed coaches for 2020/2021.
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Tamworth's Sam Conrad Bartlett-Taylor, Edward Bates, Hayden Constable, Jack Marshall, Blake Scicluna, Mitchell Scott and Hockey New England's Tom Ball were all named in the under-15s boys field squad, and Tamworth's Makenna Barnett-Suey, Molly Collett, Olivia Coombes, Mackenzie Scott and Alyvia Wilson, and New England's Cottee Harwood, Charlotte Portell the girls.
HNE's Josiah Alcorn, Tyler McCann, Ryan Oschadleus and Hayden Schumacher, and Tamworth's Oliver McGill, Nick O'Connor and Chris Taggart have meanwhile been selected in the boys AAP squad and Kate Atkin, Pip Constable and Chelsea Thornton (HNE), and Isabella Cameron and Maddie Lewin (Tamworth) the girls.
Aimed at talented athletes aged between 16 and 18, the under-18s sides are usually drawn from the AAP squads.
New England's Kieran Wicks, Nathan Czinner, Jake McCann, and Tamworth's Alex Taggart and Harper Galvin feature in the under-21s boys squad and Maible Chalmers, Mia Emanuel, Lily Neilson (New England) and Tayla King (Tamworth) the girls.