Shavington Primary School pupil shatters the ice ceiling

17 Nov 2022 11:17
Published by: Scott Callan

Hockey-star Violet Lennon, a pupil at Shavington Primary school - part of The Learning for Life Partnership - has broken through to the National Ice Hockey team.

Following successful stints playing for Manchester Storm Youth Team and the Bradford Bulldogs, the 9-year-old caught the eye of the England Ice Hockey Team coaches and has been asked to play for the Under 13s as their goalkeeper.

Violet is the youngest person on the Under-13's team; despite the age for selection usually being 10, she smashed through her trial.

Coaches agree that her fantastic reaction time and steadiness on her skates mean she is a rising star in Ice Hockey. She will continue to play for Manchester Storm Youth Team and the Bradford Bulldogs alongside being in the national squad.

During her time with the squad, Violet will have the Senior Team GB goalkeeper coach and the senior GB team there to support and mentor her.

In addition to her national success, Violet has also been triumphing internationally. Over the summer holidays, she attended the National Hockey League 'Hall of Fame' Henrik Lundqvists Hockey Camp, in Gothenburg Sweden. She was the only girl and non-Swede in attendance, and she excelled. After being spotted by a coach from the Under 16s girls camp that was running concurrently, she was asked to train and play a game with their team.

The skating star has already received national attention about her new role in the England team. She has been on both Blue Peter and Newsround to discuss being the new Under 13s national goalkeeper and is looking forward to achieving her first cap for her country.

Not content with only taking on the challenge of Ice Hockey, Violet also has her sights on Rugby, playing for Crewe and Nantwich.

Rachael Nicholls, Principal at Shavington Primary School, said: "Everyone at Shavington is so proud of Violet for her amazing call up to the England Under 13 Ice Hockey team. Violet has worked very hard at Manchester Storm Youth Team and at the Bradford Bulldogs as their respective goalkeeper, and her hard work has been rightly rewarded.

The entire school community is right behind Violet, and we can't wait to support her in her first match playing for England."

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