ON Friday, November 24, we will celebrating the 11th annual Pride of St Helens Awards.
In last Thursday's paper (in shops now) we published a 16-page supplement profiling each of the shortlisted nominees for this year's ceremony.
Throughout this week ahead of the event at the Totally Wicked Stadium, we will be sharing our categories of nominees with you.
Here are your nominees for Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group Pride of St Helens Award - Young Sportsperson Category, sponsored by St Helens Council.
Max Lamb
MAX Lamb was only seven weeks old when parents Chris and Rachel were told that his leg had to be amputated as the amniotic band cut off blood supply to his leg in the womb.
Max, from Rainford, now walks with crutches or uses a prosthetic. As a huge sports fan, he always thought team sport was something he couldn’t be part of. But then he heard about amputee football and that changed everything.
Max had all his sporting dreams come true after joining the England Amputee Junior Football squad earlier this year. While he is the only one in his school who has a limb difference with the players in the amputee team everyone is in the same boat, having lost limbs. Out on the pitch, they are all on the same team.
Max, now 11, has also been invited to join the England team’s Talent ID programme which works with the English FA for gifted amputee footballers. In Max’s nomination, proud dad Chris praised how Max hasn’t let being an amputee stop him.
Chris added: “He loves the freedom the sport gives him to thrive. “He is amazing.”
Caitlin Barrow
CAITLIN Barrow has not only excelled in the netball court but has shown her dedication to the game by taking up officiating and coaching responsibilities already - at aged just 16. Described as someone who “bleeds netball”, Caitlin has been a player since the age of 11, and plays for Oldham Netball Club, an elite performance club.
Caitlin, from Eccleston, also took the first step on her umpiring career in order to improve her own game. She regularly umpires matches across the county and, following an assessment by the Merseyside Umpire Assessor, she passed her England Netball “into officiating” qualification. Not content with “just” playing and umpiring, Caitlin volunteers as a coach at St Helens Bees Netball club to inspire the younger generation.
She has been mentored through her England Netball Level 1 coaching course, which she passed, the week before her GCSE exams in June this year.
In nominating Caitlin, Leanne Hobin, founder of St Helens Bees said: “At 16 years old, to be an elite club player, an umpire and a level one coach, is testament to Caitlin’s strong work ethic and her desire to not only play sport, but to contribute to all aspects of it.
“The reason I nominated her, it’s not just about winning gold medals or being the best netballer, it’s what she’s done other than playing, how she has pushed herself, officiating and coaching. She’s an absolute dream.”
Daisy Bowers
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Daisy Bowers trains and competes in MMA and BJJ at HAMMA Academy in St Helens and has won an array of titles.
She has competed in Europe and America, winning to date at the time of her nomination 21 golds, eight silvers and two bronzes. Daisy’s impressive haul has included world titles (four gold, two silver and one bronze) and European titles (two gold and one silver). Daisy has also won four national gold titles, all with Elite BJJ Events and won silver at BJJ British Open. In all-stars BJJ she has achieved nine golds and two silvers, and a gold and silver in the Bristol Open.
In July this year Daisy competed in Florida winning bronze at IBJJF. On top of this, she won two cage grappling submission-only fights and received the Fighters’ Fighter award 2022 at HAMMA Academy and won one inter-club MMA fight, her only one to date).
In her nomination it was said: “Daisy not only shows amazing commitment, dedication to her own training, during several school half terms she has given up her own free time to help train other children who have attended HAMMA’s HAF programmes, knife crime programme and Fuzz Fest alongside her amazing coaches.
“Daisy has a dream to compete at the highest levels of BJJ and make it as a professional fighter in both BJJ and UFC, Daisy would like to become a coach to teach others the sport she loves.”
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