Great Britain Under-16s underwent their final training camp ahead of next month’s international tournament in Latvia.
GB will face teams from across Europe in the Riga Hockey Cup from 22nd to 24th April.
The youngsters had on and off-ice sessions at Ice Sheffield this week, including a talk from Great Britain captain Jonathan Phillips.
Head Coach, Jamie Elson, said: “It was exciting to get onto the ice and work with the group that will travel and represent the under-16s in Riga.
“It feels like such a long time since we started the process, so it’s great to be starting to prepare to get into some games for the group.
“We like the make-up of this group. We had a lot to try and cover in one day but the players were great. They were engaged all day and buying into what were asking from them.
“The Riga tournament is an extremely high standard and we are looking forward to the challenge as a group.”
One of the highlights of the day was the talk by Jonathan Phillips – one of GB’s most experienced players with 104 caps since making his World Championship debut in 2003.
“We were thrilled to be joined in our morning meeting by Jonathan, who spoke to the team about his experiences of playing for Great Britain,” continued Elson.
“He gave his thoughts on what it’s takes to be successful at international level and why the men’s team have had such success in recent years.
“I thought it was a great opportunity as these players start their GB journey on the first rung of the ladder to get to speak to the men’s captain and a player who is a real leader and role model for our national programme.
“We were really grateful to him for giving up his time to come down.”
