Netball trio selected to play for Scotland in tournament next month

Three Shetland girls who have been training with the under-17 Scottish netball squad have been selected to play for Scotland in a tournament in Newcastle on 5th December.

Inga Woods, Emma Leask and Sophie May Leyland, who attended their fourth weekend in East Kilbride as part of the Scottish training squad, were put through a gruelling training regime working on their fitness, ball skills and game play.

The girls were also treated to an unexpected visit and talk from national coach Denise Holland as the Scottish team was training at the same facility on the Sunday.

The girls were delighted to be told by under-17 coach Leigh Ann Carracher that they had made the squad of 18 who will be travelling to England to play in the tournament.

A decision will hopefully be made before Christmas as to whether the girls have made the final squad of 12 who will travel to Northern Ireland to take part in the Netball Europe Under-17 Championships.

Meanwhile eight young players also travelled to the mainland last weekend to trial for Netball Scotland’s Under-15 North Pathways Squad, a feeder squad for the under-17 Scottish squad.

The trial, at the Mayfield Sports Centre in Dundee, focused on their skills in a game situation, looking at their spatial awareness on court, ability to adapt to different team mates and playing styles and specifically looking at their roles on court as a shooter, mid-court player or defender.

At the end of the trial six players were told they had been successful in making the squad – Louise Jamieson and Megan Keppie (Lerwick), Ann-Marie Kennerley and Claire Morris (Yell), Gillian Morrison (Wastside) and Stephanie Adamson (Ness). They will now attend monthly training sessions on the mainland until June 2010.

A spokeswoman said Shetland Junior Netball Development Group would like to congratulate all the girls on their achievements and wish them well with their training.

She said: “This past weekend has really illustrated the strength and depth of the talent we have in junior netball here in Shetland and is a great prospect for the future.”