PRESCOT hockey club have expressed their delight after their teenage player Kirsten Bottom was picked for the England National Colleges side.

The 17-year-old Carmel College student is among the 22 players from across country selected for the 2019/20 ladies squad.

The call comes after Kirsten, who has represented the county in various age groups, completed an intense day of trials and training at Reading alongside other top-class students.

And after making excellent progress, at club and representative level, she is now looking forward to playing alongside another new set of quality players over the coming season.

Kirsten said: "I really can’t thank the coaches and set up at Prescot Hockey Club enough for the role they have played in my journey so far.

"Securing a second consecutive promotion with my home club would be the icing on the cake of what has been a whirlwind season already, so watch this space.”

Although Kirsten first started playing hockey at junior school, she had never really experienced of competitive matches until she joined Prescot Hockey Club in 2014.

From being an inexperienced 13-year-old, Kirsten has developed and grown in confidence.

Kirsten became captain of the Lancashire u16 side in 2015, then was nominated to join the Manchester Junior Regional Performance Centre and subsequently selected to represent the North of England.

She broke into the ladies’ first team at Prescot Hockey Club in the 2016/17 season while continuing to captain the Lancashire County side.

She had a fine 2018/19 season in which Prescot qualified for the England Hockey National Cup semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history.

And the ladies team went on to win the league, the regional Division 1 Cup and All Divisions Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup to secure promotion into the North league.

Last summer, Kirsten was selected to play for the senior Lancashire County team at the Northern County Championships.

One of the youngest players in the competition, she was put forward to take part in the Wales National Player Pathway at the beginning of this season.

Kirsten is now part of the North Aspire programme and working hard to be nominated for the National Age Group Squad (NAGS) in the coming months as a prospective member of the Welsh National team.

Prescot Hockey Club said: "We are delighted for Kirsten and to see that all her hard work at training and playing competitive hockey has paid off.

"It’s an outstanding achievement to be selected for the England College team."