Ella Pashley and Isaac Kingham have been given an added role to play as England’s Juniors prepare to do battle at the European Youth Championships.

The duo have been elected by the squad members as the respective girls’ and boys’ team captains for the event, which begins in Portugal on Friday.

Both are embracing the responsibility as the boys’ squad look to stay in the top tier of 16 nations having earned promotion last year, while the girls will be looking to build on a 25th-place finish.

“We all had a couple of votes each for one boy and one girl and I got selected,” said Pashley. “It’s an honour to be a team captain in anything, I think it’s nice that I can help people and be a role model for the young ones.

“I remember as a Cadet, it can be quite scary, the Europeans, and I think it’s nice to have someone to look up to. That’s how I always felt and I think it’ll be the same for them as well to have someone around if they need to talk to me or anything.”

Kingham added: “It’s the biggest event in the year for us Juniors. It’s a privilege to play for England in such a big event, and every year everyone’s main goal is to try and get in the team for it, so I’m happy I made the team this year.

“I’m happy that my teammates see me as someone they can vote as a captain. I hope to try to help all the players the best I can, Cadets and Juniors, so it’s privilege.

“I know the feeling, especially being a Cadet at your first European Championships . . . I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life, so if I can try and help them stay calm and make them believe that they have what it takes to play at the best level.

“Most of what it takes to play well there is mainly the confidence playing such a big hall against the best players and to believe that you can do it. Hopefully I can say a few words to them which can help them.”

Pashley is part of a three-strong squad along with Sienna Jetha and Tianer Yu, who between them have had some huge experiences in the last year, competing at WTT Star Contender London and, in the case of Pashley and Yu, at a home World Championships.

It gives them belief that they can handle the intense nature of the European Youth Championships.

Yu said: “I learnt a lot from the best players in the world, so I’ll just try and go in as confident as I can be and play as I train.

“It’s always very exciting. There’s a lot of players and we’re all really energetic, and the atmosphere’s crazy. Everyone’s cho-ing and fighting, so that’s the best part about the Europeans.”

Alongside Kingham in the boys’ squad are Max Radiven, Abraham Sellado and Jakub Piwowar – the latter a late replacement for the injured Larry Trumpauskas.

Radiven said: “Last season, we got promoted into the top band, so I’m really looking forward to playing the best players in Europe, feeling their quality and getting to learn from them and be like them.

“I just want to put pressure on the best players and let them know our level, because we all have that level to be there.”

The squads spent last week at a preparation camp in Sheffield. The girls will be guided by coach Antony Constantinou and the boys by Paul Drinkhall while out in Portugal.

Constantinou said: “The girls have been training really hard, I think they’re in a really good place. At the start of the week, we’ve focused a lot on consistency and being in good shape, and then towards the end of the week it was time to focus a bit more on details and individual strengths ready for the next week.

“I want them to be going in and focusing on what they need to do and performing, because I think player-for-player they’ve got a good chance against most teams. But everyone’s prepped well for EYC and it’s not an easy competition.

“For me, the biggest focus is just going in, trying to play to your strengths and perform the way you know you can perform and hopefully, we can see how the results come from there.”

Drinkhall, who won medals at this level during his Junior career, said: “It’s good to spend some good solid time together just before the tournament, and everybody’s coming good at the right time.

“I just want all of them to go out there and give a good account of themselves. I would like other teams to be saying that they fight like dogs, just give everything they have every time they go on the table. I think if you can do that – and continuously do that, something you can control – then the outcome will be what it will be, but you can be proud of yourself.

“We’re all in a good place, and I know that their level – and I hope they know their level – is good enough to be there and they’ll go there and enjoy it.”