A group of talented young players had the chance to impress at a Future Hopes trial weekend at the Elite Training Centre in Sheffield.

The youngsters, aged from nine to 12, were asked to go to the weekend based on their results, the level that they were playing at, or through their behaviours that they showed on the table at the Mark Bates Ltd U10-13 National Championships.

They worked with National Pathway Coach Charlotte Carey and other performance coaches including Nat Green, Ben Barlow and Olly Tyndall, on all aspects of their games, including warm-up, footwork and movement drills and on-table exercises.

Meanwhile, their parents also joined a session with coaches about the pathway structure, to help them understand the journey their child could be going on through the different stages of pathway, and what attributes the coaches are looking for in players.

Check out the video below to find out more about the weekend.

The performance staff will now select the cohort for the new Futures programme starting in September – though Director of Performance Development Gavin Evans said that the door is always open for players to join at a later stage even if not selected this time.

He added: “If we want great Senior athletes, we’ve got to have great Junior athletes, great Cadet athletes and aspiring, hungry athletes who are under-13 and that’s our Futures programme.

“We’re not necessarily looking for the greatest technique or the greatest matchplay at the moment, but we’re looking for the right behaviours, someone who’s got real passion and drive to work their way through the pathway and maybe one day stand on the podium in the Senior ranks.

“Working with eight, nine, 10-year-olds across the world-class fundamentals is so important and that’s what we’re doing.

“This is about finding the next generation of great young talents and we hope we’ll take a few of these athletes through into our Futures programme starting in September.”