Local Sports Talent

A new member of the England Hockey U 18 squad is Toby Morris who attends Bishop Heber.

His grandparents, Barrie and Trish Morris, live in Tattenhall . His father, Marcus Morris, represents Tattenhall at squash.
A real sporting family!
Toby Morris missed out on the England Boys Under 16 squad, but the Deeside Ramblers player simply used that as motivation to work even harder for when the next opportunity came around.

That hard work paid off, with Toby now chosen for the Boys Under 18 squad, that will prepare for July's 8 Nations tournament. Now he is intent on continuing to make the most of everything that comes his way.

"I am really pleased, it is a relief getting in after putting the hard work in," he said. "I found out via an email, and I was with my grandparents, so it was really nice to be able to tell them.

"Toby was identified at the Talent Academy Festival and his time playing for Deeside Ramblers in the Men's Division One North has proved invaluable for his development. Toby is currently competing in his second season of men's hockey.

It is particularly special for Toby, who first joined the club aged seven and has honed his skills at the Cheshire club.

He added: "My mum played hockey at school and my dad played a little bit, but I first started playing when Deeside came to my primary school to give a taster session.

"They offered introductory training sessions for juniors; I went to those and really enjoyed it and went on to progress through the juniors.

All that is combined with studying for A-Levels, but Toby is managing to fit it all in and hopes the extra opportunities that come with selection will help him improve even further.

"I only play club hockey, so I don't have that extra hockey training at school. I have to put in more work on my own to keep up with other people," he said. "To help me do this my Dad bought some used astro turf and we built a practice area in the garden at home.

"Next is the Under 21s and then the Elite Development Programme which would be the next big step but ultimately the big dream would be to compete internationally, to represent GB at the Olympics.

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