UTC Reading Engineering student Cameron Mitchell has taken another step closer to making his dreams come true on the hockey field after he was selected for the Welsh U18s National Squad.
Cameron, who is half Welsh on his mum’s side, successfully made it through the trials for the U16 squad after a coach at his local team, Reading Hockey Club, encouraged him to try out.
Having gone up against other hopefuls from across the country, Cameron thoroughly impressed the coaches and has since gone on to qualify for the U18 squad, where he is a goalkeeper.
The Year 12 student said: “I play for Wales whenever I’m needed. Every half term there’s a training camp or a test series and the club have their version of regional level training every other week.”
“With the hockey world it’s quite private-school based, and the GB squad is mostly made up of English players.
“I want to try and prove a point – that a Welsh keeper who went to a state school can get into the GB squad – you don’t have to be privately educated or have the best training in the world to get there.”
“I do a lot of fitness outside of hockey so I’m able to perform at my best. I’ve got a small home gym where I do weights, then I do cardio four times a week – a 5km run or sprint training.”
“I started playing hockey at three, but that wasn’t my only sport. I used to do competitive swimming until I was about 12, and I love skiing and rugby. If I had the time to play rugby too I still would.”
But right now he’s working on his hockey skills, which he says are coordination and agility, especially for goalkeepers.
“If you’re not agile, when you go down you can’t get back up quickly, so you end up conceding silly rebounds, and if your coordination isn’t on point you just end up missing the ball – it comes quite fast.”
Principal Jonathan Nicholls said: “We are all immensely proud of Cameron’s selection for the Welsh Hockey Squad. The constant juggle of priorities in life is a challenge for anyone. To see a young man, managing the demands of a rigorous training programme whilst continuing to focus on his studies at the UTC is nothing short of an inspiration.
“UTC Reading works with students to foster a culture where they are Ready, Respectful and Relentless. It is wonderful to see Cameron demonstrating all three of these elements at this early stage of his life and I have no doubt these foundations will help him grow towards further success in the future.
Coming up for Cameron with the Welsh team is a series of three games against Ulster at Easter, plus the fight for his local side Reading to stay in the league.
