On 26th November GB U17s arrived at the Ravelin Stadium in Vienna to take on the number one ranked European Under 17 team. The game against Austria was the first ever game for the GB U17s. Within the squad of 45 were 4 players from the Solent Seahawks.
The Seahawks have been very well represented in the Junior GB ranks since the programme restarted in 2018. Ryan Hart, Noah Kirby, Ollie Williams and our newly transferred recruit from Salisbury City Marauders, Tom Chambers became the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Seahawks to represent their country whilst at the club since 2018. All four players saw game time and all four have come away with treasured memories of representing their country. On the sidelines was our U16 OC Gavin Hart. Coach Hart has been integral to developing our young 'Hawks and it was a very well deserved opportunity to take his skills onto the International stage.
The Austria team were formidable first opponents for a GB side where, not one, of the players had ever played 11 a side football. Austria are the current European Champions at this age group and haven't lost a game for some time. Despite this gulf in experience, and the fact that the GB players had never done any special teams work prior to the GB camps, the 25-0 win for Austria was an incredibly positive result. There were plenty within BritBowl who would have been fearing a much larger scoreline given the circumstances.
Seahawks pride ourselves on being able to coach our players to be successful as they move on through their football careers. It is a testament to everything that Head Coach Russ Hewitt, OC Gavin Hart, DC Keith Johnson and all of the other coaches at the U16 level, have done over the past few seasons to support the players to make the jump from 5 a side league games to an 11 a side international. With Ryan, Ollie and Tom all at Filton Pride, these kids have a bright future. Noah still has another year left at U16 and if last season is anything to go by, there are going to be fireworks!
Tom has only recently joined us from Salisbury City Marauders, credit has to go to Coach Abe Cleveland and his staff in helping support Tom in getting to the International stage. We cannot wait to see what this experience has done to improve Toms game. Congratulations Tom, what a way to announce yourself as a Seahawk!
Congratulations to Head Coach Damon Kirby and all the other staff which made this game happen. American Football is a great sport, these kids are at the peak of the sport in the UK for their age group, and they have all made their debuts representing their country - that's something that will live with them forever.