Toby Morris missed out on the England Boys Under 16 squad, but the Deeside Ramblers player simply used that as motivation to work even harder for when the next opportunity came around.
Those hard yards paid off, with Toby part of the Boys Under 18 squad that will prepare for July’s 8 Nations tournament, and now he is intent on continuing to make the most of everything that comes his way.
“I am really pleased, it is a relief getting in after putting the hard work in,” he said. “I found out via an email, and I was with my grandparents, so it was really nice to be able to tell them.
“After hearing I didn’t get into the Under 16 squad, it was more motivation to push me forward towards Under 18s.
“The coaches at Under 16s told me what I needed to improve on, and I went and worked on that and by the time it came to Under 18s, I felt like I was a more mature player.
“I had a season playing men’s senior hockey, I was better overall, and I had more confidence as well.”
Toby, a player at Timperley TA, was identified at the Talent Academy Festival and his time playing for Deeside Ramblers in the Men’s Division One North has proved invaluable for his development. Toby is currently competing in his second season of men’s hockey.
It is particularly special for Toby, who first joined the club aged seven and has honed his skills at the Cheshire club.
He added: “My mum played hockey at school and my dad played a little bit, but I first started playing when Deeside came to my primary school to give a taster session.
“They offered introductory training sessions for juniors; I went to those and really enjoyed it and went on to progress through the juniors.
“It was probably when I started playing the age groups above that I realised I had the potential to be really good and then when I started playing men’s hockey at a young age, I knew I had a shot at getting into England and progressing forward; it motivated me on to do more training.
“It’s much more intense, it’s a more physical game and you have to be more tactical with how you play but I think I have adjusted quite well to it.
“The first season, fitness was the main thing but this season I am growing in confidence week in, week out.”
Morris’ Toby’s time at Ramblers is important too, given he does not play any hockey at school and instead does his own individual sessions to stay at the top of his game.
All that is combined with studying for A-Levels, but Toby is managing to fit it all in and hopes the extra opportunities that come with selection will help him improve even further.
“I only play club hockey, so I don’t have that extra hockey training at school. I have to put in more work on my own to keep up with other people,” he said. “To help me do this my Dad bought some used astro and we built a practice area in the garden at home.
“There is a lot of schoolwork as I am doing my first year of A-Levels and it is a big step up from GCSEs but they assist you with that and if you are struggling, there are people you can talk to.
“Being selected is a massive confidence boost and it is more motivation to stick with it, carry on being consistent with training and then hope it opens up more opportunities for physio, nutritionists and psychologists we get to work with, so it should improve me as a player and as a person.
“Making the Under 18s squad just keeps on fuelling that desire to keep on getting better as a player and keep on doing those extra sessions.
“Next is the Under 21s and then the Elite Development Programme which would be the next big step but ultimately the big dream would be to compete internationally, to represent GB at the Olympics.”
