England's players want a medal at Coquitlam U19 ... - sportcentric

men
U19 World Championship
Precious
metal
England’s players want
a medal at Coquitlam
words by Tom Wenham
pictures by DE Photo
CONTINUITY is the watchword at the England camp. 2006
World Championships defensive coach Tom Wenham is the new
U19 head coach, and no fewer than four of his assistants played
at the London, Ontario tournament two years ago. The team
building model used for the senior men’s squad – take the
best England has to offer, and then supplement the biggest
areas of need with players based in the USA – is carried
over as well.
We’re extremely excited about our overseas-based players.
Obviously we select on talent and ability but far and away
the biggest factors are character and attitude. These guys have
a tough job bonding with UK-based players who are already
training together three times a week. We’ve therefore selected
guys who we know will slot right in and who have shown huge
commitment to spending significant time in the UK.
Top of the list of overseas recruits is Zac Guy (Lafayette HS,
NY), who wowed coaches with his speed and direction changing
at a tryout in Philadelphia. Guy will be asked to lead the attack
alongside a strong selection of righties – Will Sugden (Mellor),
Danny Ives (Cheadle) and Greg Rowlinson (Stockport) – and
On the attack
t h e r e ’ s a g r e a t m i x o f p l ay e r s w i t h
t h e s p e e d a n d s t e p t o t a k e o n a p o l e ,
c o m p l e m e n t e d b y o t h e r s w h o c a n
dominate on the crease. a n d A b o v e
all else, they shoot the ball well
leftie Anthony Boyle (Manchester Wacs). Sugden is young but
has great awareness and Rowlinson brings much-needed size and
inside threat to the unit. Boyle is a real sniper and also sees the
field well.
We’re excited about the potential in this attack. There’s a great
mix of players with the speed and step to take on a pole, complemented
by others who can dominate on the crease and give us
some inside options. Above all else they shoot the ball well, and
with chances being hard to create in international lacrosse we
wanted to make sure we have players who can exploit each and
every opportunity.
Matt Lord (Wittenburg University) has been drafted in to bolster
the offensive midfield, where he will be joined by converted
attackman Sam Russell (Poynton/Western Reserve), who has just
finished a season of high school lacrosse in Ohio, and Max Sandy
(Timperley), who could be the best shooter on the squad.
England will certainly not be overmatched physically
in the midfield. Joining the first string are Sam
Giddings (Poynton) and Freddie Evans (Mellor),
both of whom are over six-foot-four and built like
tanks. Giddings will handle face-off duty along with
the versatile Mike Armstrong (Timperley).
LSM Eddie Dolan (Mellor) also has some experience
with US college lacrosse, and can deliver some heavy
hitting if it’s required. w
ENGLAND U19 SQUAD, 2008
Name Club Position Number
ARMSTRONG, Michael Timperley Midfield 19
BAILEY, Tom Heaton Mersey Defence 3
BOYLE, Anthony Waconians Attack 23
DOLAN, Eddie Mellor Defence 25
EVANS, Freddie Mellor Midfield 18
GIDDINGS, Tom Poynton Midfield 9
GRIME, Daniel Boardman & Eccles Goal 13
GRUBISIC, Robert Boardman & Eccles Defence 2
GUY, Zac Lafayette Lancers HS Attack 20
HAYES, Anthony Heaton Mersey Goal 6
HAYES, Peter Heaton Mersey Midfield 15
IVES, Daniel Cheadle Attack 16
LEAHY, Thomas Waconians Defence 8
LEONARD, Max Boardman & Eccles Midfield 7
LEVACK, Jordan Arnold O Beckham HS Defence 27
LLOYD, Christopher Stockport Goal 26
LORD, Matt Wittenberg University Midfield 24
MITCHELL, Alex Norbury Midfield 28
PRESCOTT, James Poynton Defence 4
ROWLINSON, Greg Stockport Attack 22
RUSSELL, Sam Poynton Midfield 5
SANDY, Max Timperley Midfield 12
SHERRY-BRENNAN, Josh Brooklands Midfield 14
SUGDEN, Will Mellor Attack 1
SUMMERS, Chris Brooklands Midfield 17
WAWRZYNIAK, Jak Heaton Mersey Defence 21
WOODHEAD, Jack Oldham Defence 10
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men
Middies
We’ve got a very strong unit, with o u t - a n d - o u t
speed merchants and some huge athletes. W e ’ v e
g o t t h e p l ay e r s t o b r i n g t h e b a l l o u t o f d e f e n c e a t
pace and others who give us a real offensive threat
w We’ve got a very strong midfield unit, with out-and-out speed
merchants and some huge athletes. We’ve got the players to bring
the ball out of defence at pace and others who give us a really strong
offensive threat. We wanted to blur the lines between midfield
players and attack players and with that in mind we’ve got two
converted attack players coming out of midfield (Russell and Lord).
They, along with others, offer us good looks out of an invert and
we’ll use this to change things up every now and then.
At the back, California-based Jordan Levack (Beckman HS),
who has impressed with his discipline and range, will be paired
with another imposing six-footer in Jak Warzyniak (Heaton Mersey).
Leftie Dan Grime and rightie Ant Hayes are fighting for the
starting spot in net – a particular achievement for Grime, seeing
he spent most of his club season in Division 5 this winter.
The defensive unit scares me, so heaven knows what effect
they’ll have on the opposition. I don’t think one of them is under
six-foot-one, and they’re phenomenally athletic. They’re now
coming together really well as a unit and are playing the tight
team defence we intend to use in the championships. To have
two goalies fighting for top spot is also great news for us. I’m sure
they’ll continue to push each right up to the championships and
we’ve set no timescales on picking our starter.
England needs to get its overseas players gelling quickly before
they can be a real threat in the blue division. This group of homegrown
players is not as naturally talented as the squad from 1999,
but could be well placed to overcome Australia, a feat the 2003
team fell short of by just a single goal.
We’re clear about what we want to achieve and the players have
developed their own objectives, which include coming back with a
medal. We know this will be hugely challenging but we are excited
COACHES, MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT STAFF
Name Club Affiliation Team Responsibility
SITLANI, Ravi ‘Baggie’ Stockport Team manager
WENHAM, Tom Waconians Head coach
CAPLIN, Greg
Head of national squads
FLANAGAN, Henry ‘Skip’ Western Reserve Academy Coach
GREEN, Daniel Wilmslow Coach, midfield
McALLISTER, Ben Mellor Coach, goal
PATTERSON, Sam Stockport Coach, defence
WALLACE, Alistair Mellor Coach, FO & conditioning
WEDDELL, Scott Waconians Coach, attack
ATKINSON, Pauline
Physiotherapist
DAVIES, Georgie Timperley Physiotherapist
ILF U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Year Champion Runner-Up Host
1988 United States Australia Adelaide, Australia
1992 United States Australia New York, USA
1996 United States Australia Tokyo, Japan
1999 United States Canada Adelaide, Australia
2003 United States Canada Maryland, USA
2008 British Columbia, Canada
about achieving our potential and playing to
the best of our ability.
We face Japan in our first World Championship game. They
are a world-class team and will be a huge test. Again, we’re going
to learn from the senior team for this one. They lost in 2002 in a
one-goal game – we’re confident of winning this and going on to
cause a few surprises.
Defence
t h e d e f e n s i v e u n i t s c a r e s m e , s o
h e a v e n k n o w s w h at e f f e c t t h e y ’ l l
have on the opposition. i d o n ’ t t h i n k
o n e o f t h e m i s u n d e r s i x - f o o t - o n e ,
and they’re phenomenally athletic
ROAD TO A MEDAL
Round-robin games
Thursday 3 July 09.30 ENGLAND v Japan
Friday 4 July 19.15 Canada v ENGLAND
Saturday 5 July 16.00 ENGLAND v Australia
Sunday 6 July 19.15 Iroquois v ENGLAND
Monday 7 July 12.45 ENGLAND v USA
Knockout rounds
Tuesday 8 July Qualifier (if necessary)
Thursday 10 July Semifinals
Saturday 12 July Medal games
Live webcasts
All Blue Division games and
all matches post-round robin
will be webcast live. There is a
fee for each game of C$9.95
(about £5.00). Check out the
championship website and click
on the banner ad below the menu
bar (all game times are Pacific
Standard Time):
www.2008worldlax.com
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