Jack’sthe ladforGB under-20 squad
Jack Lees, East Kilbride Handball Club’s senior player of the year, is celebrating after being selected to represent Great Britain.
Lees earned recognition from his peers earlier this month at the club’s annual prizegiving and he received another boost when the GB squad chose him for the U20 squad competing at the European Championships in Macedonia this week.
Jack and the rest of the GB squad will be taking on hosts Macedonia, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine in the group phase in Skopje.
The squad just returned from their training camp in Portugal where they lost narrowly to the Portuguese national squad, but they responded well to record a terrific 38-34 victory against top Portuguese team San Bernado, with Jack top scorer on the day.
Jack was club captain at EK82 this season and was top scorer in the league. He led the team to the Scottish Cup final, losing by a solitary goal and the club missed out on the league title by one point.
Despite that, it was EK’s most successful season for many years.
Club development coach Michael Lavery said: “Jack is a perfect example of what can be achieved by schools development.
“I first saw Jack as an eightyear-old boy in Heathery Knowe Primary School.
“He joined the handball club and was also a keen footballer but he soon realised that his main talent was definitely handball.
“The whole club are proud of Jack’s achievements and it’s a special moment for me as well, having coached him for 12 years now.”