GB Futures – a partnership between Ice Hockey UK and the UK Ice Hockey Foundation – continued their preparations for this month’s Under-16s Boys Four Nations tournament in Tallinn with a training camp in Bradford at the weekend.
The GB youngsters will face hosts Estonia, as well as Hungary and HS Riga, in the four-team tournament from 27th to 29th August.
The current GB Futures team faced a 2010 team made up of players from last year’s side and players who had been part of the UKIHF webinar development series that was running all last season.
In a high-scoring game, the 2010 team won 8-6 at the Bradford Ice Arena.
GB Futures Head Coach, Euan King, said: “It was a good test for the players and an introduction to what a real game of hockey looks like with warm-ups, ice cuts and three 20-minute periods.
“It’s not only the on-ice side but also meetings before the games and the expectations of what it takes to be a Great Britain player.
“A lot the concepts and habits of real hockey we have been working on with this group – through the webinars series and the training camp in Cardiff – were put into practice which was great to see.
“The players learnt a ton from the experience and they know what to expect from a gameday heading to Estonia. They know the level of competition they will face in Tallinn will step up.
“The Futures programme is developing and educating these players for real international competition and games. This is what the Foundation is all about – bringing the hockey community together for the betterment of the sport.”
