After a season that was start-stop due to changes in Covid restrictions, players from Solway Sharks Juniors finally got to the end of their league campaigns, the under 19 team finishing mid-table, while the under 16s ran in a close second to leaders Fife.
With the challenges of Covid adding to recovering from a whole season lost to restrictions, the club was happy they were able to fulfil all their fixtures, meaning valuable game experience for the players.
With league games finished Dumfries Ice Bowl played host to a two-weekend series of Scotland versus England North and South tournaments at various age groups. Solway were well represented in the Scotland teams, with Kyle Carruth (assistant captain) and Scott Kirkpatrick turning out for the under 17s, while William Daley, Owen Rae, Logan Reid and Bailey Thomson all featured in the under 15s team.
With a dozen 60-minute ‘stop clock’ games, the players had ample opportunity to impress the watching Great Britain coaches. A strong England North team came out on top in the U15 age group, although they were held to a 3-3 draw by Scotland in their final game of the weekend. The U17 tournament was a close affair, with all three teams recording a win on the first day.
England South started the second day with a narrow 3-2 win over England North and followed up with a 2-2 draw against Scotland. This left the hosts needing to beat England North in the last game to join them at the top of the standings. Scotland trailed 3-1 at the halfway mark, but they battled back to secure a deserved 6-4 victory and end the weekend positively.
Solway Sharks and Scotland coach Jamie Thomson, who played a key role in organising the event, described it as a ‘huge success’. “SIH Nationals was created to ensure our junior players could showcase their talent to the GB coaches and give them something to work towards during the season,” he said. “The feedback has been amazing, and the event was a huge success. We’d like to thank the staff at Dumfries Ice Bowl, who are always great hosts in their fantastic facility. A special word too for all the team staff, coaches, managers, goal judges and volunteers who helped the event run smoothly.
The following weekend saw Scotland under 13 and under 11 teams take on England in a similar format, Solway player Cole Chalmers the sole club representative over the weekend making his mark in the U11 team, scoring for Scotland in what was a tough competition for the team.
National duties dispensed with Junior Sharks under 19 team headed to Auchenharvie to take part in the Ronnie Miller memorial tournament, taking on teams from across the UK. A grant from the Stove Network part funded the trip and entry to the tournament. After stiff competition and a hard-fought final game Solway emerged victorious and were crowned U19 champions.
Reflecting on the club and player achievements Solway Juniors Chair Leanne Thomson told us, “After missing a whole season due to Covid our club, the same as every other club in the country, faced restarting this season with fewer members. We have worked hard in conjunction with the Council to increase participation and retain players, and numbers are now healthy once again, with Learn to Play and Hockey Fundamentals sessions really busy with youngsters looking to learn the game and step up to join the club.
Our player development pathway has again shown success with a large number of our players selected to play for their country on various Scotland teams, and these players should all be as proud of themselves and their achievements as everyone else in the club is – they have all worked hard and their dedication has been justly rewarded. They all played brilliantly and represented themselves and the club well.
The under 19s success at the Aucenharvie tournament was fabulous to see, the players battled hard for each other over the weekend, dug deep to get the victories, and it was great to see them lift the trophy.
All things considered the club has had a great season, and with player numbers increasing the future looks rosy for the Junior Sharks. We are looking forward to the summer break, but August will be here before we know it with our annual Camp to get the players ready for the new season.”
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