Three of Medway Park Crusaders talented youngsters have been named in the initial England U16 squad.

Liam Carpenter, Dave Couchman and Tyler Russell have all been selected for a training camp in Bristol over October half-term.

The training camp is the first step in the process of preparing for the 2012 European Championships.  It is a special opportunity as it will be the first time the England U16s will be competing in the A division of the European Championships having gained promotion this past summer.

All 3 of the players are also members of the Medway Park Crusaders academy based at The Canterbury High School.  They were part of the Crusaders U16 team who made the national quarterfinals last season as well as the U15 team at The Canterbury High School that won a national silver medal in the England Premier Schools competition.

Carpenter is a 6’1 guard who has played for Crusaders for the last 4 seasons.  He has had a taste of the Under 16s last season as part of the training squad, as well as being a key player for the England U15 Development squad.  Carpenter lives in Rochester.

Couchman is a 6’7 centre from Folkestone who has also been at Crusaders for 4 seasons.  He travelled with Carpenter to Copenhagen last season as he was also part of the U15 Development Squad.

Russell, a 5’10 point guard, also comes from Folkestone.  He has been at Crusaders for 4 seasons.  Russell has represented the South East regional team for the last 3 seasons, including a stint as captain.  He is really excited about the opportunity to prove himself as a national team player, “After missing out on my chance last year I have worked on the things I needed and I now feel ready.”

Crusaders Chairman and Academy head coach Jesse Sazant is obviously proud of the three promising players, “To be one of only 2 clubs to place 3 or more players in the U16 squad is something we are very proud of as a club.  All 3 of them have had their own obstacles along the way but have fought through them to work hard to keep pushing themselves.  They all have shown a huge commitment to travel large distances to school to give themselves the best opportunity to succeed.  It is great to see such dedication and drive from these young men.”