Shrewsbury Storm youngsters shine in basketball Aspire programme
Youngsters at a Shrewsbury basketball club are making their mark after earning places in one of England’s most prestigious development pathways.
Talented players at Shrewsbury Storm, which has more than 200 players from across the county, have been selected for the Aspire development programme run by Basketball England.
Five of the club’s rising stars have been chosen for the programme, while another is proudly representing the Welsh national squad.
Each year around 20,000 young athletes from across the country are nominated by their coaches to attend the governing body’s monthly development sessions. From these, only the top 12 players in each regional development area are selected to compete at the Inter-Regional tournament - which this year was held in Bristol.
Coaches at Shrewsbury Storm nominate players for the programme before they are gradually whittled down through the Aspire sessions that run from September. Those selected then go on to represent their region at the Inter-Regional event.This year saw several Storm players chosen to represent the West Midlands, with impressive performances across multiple age groups.
Jake Cockerill represented the under-15 boys team, who won their age-group competition. Seth Ramtuhul and Harrison Doyle competed for the under-13 boys side, finishing third behind Wales under-14s and East Midlands under-13s.
In the girls’ competitions, Tabitha Pickering played for the under-13 team that finished fourth, while Lena Kozlowska represented the under-15 girls, who topped their table.
Meanwhile, Summer Healy competed in the same age bracket as Tabitha but represented the Wales women’s national under-14 basketball team, helping them secure second place.
The players are now waiting to learn whether any of them will be selected to progress further and represent the Central England region.
The club said they were extremely proud of the players’ achievements.A spokesperson said: “At Shrewsbury Storm we pride ourselves on developing players first and worrying about results second,” they said.
“Our goal is to build well-rounded athletes who enjoy the game and keep improving every time they step on the court.”
