Telford hockey ace gets call for England

Mike Parham, 16, who plays for Telford & Wrekin Under-18s, is currently taking part in a camp at Repton School in Derbyshire.

Parham is training with the England Under-18s at the National Age Groups Academy (NAGS) and will find out in the summer whether he has earned a place in the team.

Mike was selected after completing a number of high performance assessment camps (HiPAC) and Future Cups.

His father, Alan, current manager of Telford & Wrekin first team, said: "Mike has been involved in hockey for a number of years.

"He attends a training camp which runs through the year, it's based around two-hour sessions.

"Mike has been attending the sessions for the last three weeks and they will continue to run right through to December.

"From NAGS he receives really top class international training and he's also got the recognised level as he's already had a hiPACk performance assessment and competed in the Futures Cup.

"In his age group Mike is one of the top 32 players in the country."

Mike completed his HiPAC in 2013 and 2015 and the Futures Cup in 2014, as well as going through the Junior Regional Performance Centres.

Alan added: "He will take part in the Futures Cup again next year and through the hiPAC is where he gets selected for his training.

"He's training with some incredible players but he is yet to be selected for the under-18s squad, that selection process comes in the summer."

Mike, who has been playing since he was six, has also been selected for the Advance Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE.

That's where he attends a course provided by Loughborough University held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. This weekend, he will be away for two days to study the course.

Mike also plays for Shropshire and Adams' Grammar School in Newport, where he is currently studying his A-levels.