U17 County Squad

The U17 squad managers would like to welcome all the players selected for the squad for the 2009/2010 season. We are looking forward to the new season.

Teams will be chosen to represent the County in the Shires League, in friendly matches, in Eastern Region team tournaments and in the 2 prominent events of the season, RIO and ICT.

The RIO team tournament is a weekend in York where teams from 8 counties take part. The ICT is a 4 day stay at Nottingham University during the Easter break with approx. 40 counties represented.

It is expected that players chosen for the squad have their own individual or group coach, so that our sessions mainly concentrate on quality play, tactical awareness and building team spirit.

All the squad members are expected to play in both the appropriate local HSBA tournaments and National Badminton England tournaments. Successful players in the BE Tournaments gain a National Grading. This determines whether the player is eligible for the Gold, Silver or Bronze tournaments. To find out more visit www.badmintonengland.co.uk.

Squad Facts

• The Squad meets weekly on Thursdays at the Hertfordshire Sports Village 8 pm to 10 pm.
• The Training is on four courts and uses feather shuttles
• The fees to cover training from September through to Easter are £145. This covers the cost of courts and shuttles. The Squad Managers give their time and expertise free.
• Eligibility to be a part of this squad a player must either live in or be at school in Hertfordshire.

Joint Squad Managers – Tony Clarke Tel: 01992 586727 / Pat Walker Tel: 01992 422073 | e-mail: pat.walker@auchy.com

Coaching

The U17 squad is pleased to welcome coach Chris Dakin to the Thursday night sessions starting on September 3rd 2009.

Chris is currently working as a full time Badminton Coach primarily in Essex and the surrounding London Boroughs. He has worked as head coach of Essex Junior Badminton at U15 and U17 level for the past 4 years and is also presently working as Coach of the David Lloyd Centre in Gidea Park. Chris delivers coaching at both of the National Performance Centres based in Essex as well as coaching in numerous clubs and schools throughout the county.

As a player, Chris represented England at U15, U17 and U19 level and made his first Senior Nationals appearance as a 16 year old. Despite coming close on a few occasions, Chris never did win a Junior National title, but did manage to win two Junior International Doubles titles at U17 level. At 18, having started to compete in Senior International tournaments, Chris moved to Loughborough University to study English and Film with a view to continue developing his badminton. Unfortunately illness prevented Chris from playing for over a year and he decided to stop playing badminton competitively. Chris continued to play Badminton socially at University and was part of the BUSA Team Championship winning teams in each of the years he studied at Loughborough. When he's not busy coaching, Chris continues to represent his county and enjoys playing the occasional tournament on the National Circuit.

As both player and coach, Chris has been fortunate enough to work with many talented and inspirational individuals, and he hopes that he can pass on his experience and enthusiasm when working with a very promising Herts U17 Squad in the 2009/10 season.

County Trials

These were held in May but if you missed them and think that you are good enough to play for the County contact the Squad Manager and he will invite you for a trial.

Fixtures

The latest information about the U17 squad fixtures and match results are shown below and on the Fixtures page here. Shires League results are displayed below. For more information please visit www.shiresbadminton.co.uk.

Day	Date	Team	Type	H/A	Event	Result/ Time	Venue
Sun	04/10/2009	U17	SL	Home	Kent	W 12-08	Herts Sports Village
Sun	25/10/2009	U17	SL	Home	Essex	L 09-11	Herts Sports Village
Sun	22/11/2009	U17	HSBA Tnt	n/a	HSBA U18 Singles, Doubles & Mixed	See Tnt Page	Stevenage
Sun	22/11/2009	U16	Team Tnt	n/a	U16 Eastern region Team	tbc	Harlow, Essex
Sat	05/12/2009	U17	BE Tnt	n/a	U17 Bronze & Silver BE Tournament	n/a	Stevenage
Sun	06/12/2009	U17	SL	Home	Middlesex	13:00	Wodson Park, Ware
Fri	18/12/2009	All	Social	n/a	Squad bowling night	17:00	Stevenage
Sun	20/12/2009	U17	SL	Away	Bedfordshire	12:00	Luton Sports Village
Sat - Sun	16/01/2010 - 17/01/2010	U17	RIO	n/a	Invitation Team Tournament	tbc	York
Sun	07/02/2010	U17	SL	n/a	Shires League Playoff Round 1	tbc	tbc
Sun	21/02/2010	U17	Friendly	Home	Oxfordshire	14:00	Wodson Park SC, Ware
Sun	21/03/2010	U17	SL	n/a	Shires League Playoff Round 2 (if we qualify)	tbc	tbc
Thu - Sun	08/04/2010 - 11/04/2010	U17	ICT	n/a	Team Tournament	tbc	Nottingham
Sat	17/04/2010	U17	Team Tnt	n/a	Eastern region single-sex Team Tournaments	10:00	Luton