Airedale Hockey Club’s Matthew Ramshaw celebrated a call into the England under-16 development squad by helping the men’s first team to a crucial victory at Leeds AC on Saturday.
Earlier this season Matthew had been one of 60 boys from across the country to attend a HiPac (high performance assessment centre) for under-15s despite being only 12 at the time.
Now he is set for inclusion in a national under-16 training group next month at Lilleshall in Shropshire. Only 20 boys from the whole country have been selected and, with a tournament squad of 16, Matthew has every chance of national honours in the next couple of seasons.
Matthew helped Oakbank School-based Airedale first team win 1-0 at third-placed Leeds AC to bring the Yorkshire Div Three title within touching distance.
A single goal from Ryan O’Keefe was enough to secure three points and just four more points will secure promotion.
Meanwhile, Alex Blake and Edward Stewart are also celebrating being selected for the West Yorkshire under-13 development squad.
Edward’s older brother Harry Stewart has also been included in the under-17 West Yorkshire development squad.
Junior hockey at Oakbank on Wednes-days is thriving, with Airedale benefiting from new interest following the Olympics.
Juniors train from 6-7pm, followed by senior training.
There has been an influx of players for all teams and Airedale hope to grow further.
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