It was a tough outing for the troops who made the six hour return road trip to the St Helen’s for the North West Age Bands. This is one of the Ranking events for Cadets & Juniors and a reminder to the players, and their parents, that they need to be prepared to “go the extra mile” (excuse the pun) if they hope to succeed at this level.
Toby Roberts (U46kg – Pre Cadets) competed well despite winning just one of his three fights in a very strong group of players and once again showed maturity in his approach and readiness to try new techniques rather than “play safe” . Oliver Baldwin (U46kg – Pre Cadets) and Ewan Tweedie (U55kg – Pre Cadets), are admittedly finding it difficult to make a breakthrough at this level but their willingness to put themselves into the arena against stronger, more experienced players demonstrates great resolve and both should remember the faces of the boys who are beating them today so that they can smile contentedly at them when the roles are reversed over the next couple of years!
Sarah Hill had another imperious day making it three gold medals from the three ranking events to take place this year. Following a Bye in the first round, Sarah showed her quality and controlled each of her three fights to win the Cadets U70kg category.
