England debut tops a superb year for Bland
Court star full of New Year resolution SQUASH
A GOLDEN year has left trampoline starlet Martin Bland bouncing - now he hopes to take on the world in 2019, writes TONY HODGSON.
The 14-year-old from Cullercoats topped the podium in three national competitions in 2018 as well as striking silver on his England debut.
Buoyed by those successes, the Washington-based Apollo Trampoline Club member wants to do even better in the new year - and make the Great Britain junior team.
Bland, a pupil at St Thomas More School in Gateshead, said: “I feel I had a very successful 2018.
“I won gold at tournaments in Gillingham and Telford in April and Sheffield in June.
“In May I achieved a silver medal in Frivolten, Sweden, representing England.”
England took on squads from Denmark, Holland, Germany and Sweden in the prestigious event, Martin Bland left) after his victory at the 2017 British Elite Trampoline Championships and (right) with his England silver medal SQUASH ace Jamie Todd is hoping to court success in 2019 after making the decision to turn professional, writes TONY HODGSON.
The 20-year-old from Hazlerigg turned his back on the amateur ranks in June but domestic circumstances have so far prevented him from making a big-time impact.
However, the former Scottish junior and Northumberland junior champion is now back in full training - and full of New Year resolution.
Todd said: “I have not been playing that much in 2018 - it has mainly been in local competitions.
“I did contest the London Open where I reached the second round before losing to the world No 31 from Spain, which was quite Bland claiming his second place in the junior boys’ section.
What made Bland’s achievement all the more creditable was the fact he was up against boys older than himself – up to the age of 18.
He added: “I was lost for words when I realised I had won a silver medal.
“The week was challenging both physically and mentally but I was so happy I was able to win a medal representing my country.”
Bland followed up those achievements by winning a silver medal at the British Championship Finals in Birmingham in September.
A week later the youngster won three golds - in the boys,’ men’s and syncro age groups at the North of England competition.
He said: “For 2019 I will be working towards increasing the difficulty of my tariff and aiming for higher scores.
“I am also hoping to be on the Great Britian junior trampoline team and I hopefully will have a chance to be chosen for the World Age Games in Japan at the end of the year.
“I would like to thank all the coaches at Apollo for their hard work and dedication in helping me achieve my goals.”
Bland’s England call-up in Sweden was recognition for a year of success in 2017 for the talented teenager. pleasing. With a young daughter in tow it has been very difficult to travel very far out of Newcastle but I am now working really hard with this year in mind.
“I am planning to compete in the Scottish Under-21 Championships in January and the Scottish Open in March.
“We will see how I go there but I feel in decent shape and I my game is hopefully in a good place.
“This year is a big year for me. I want to compete a lot more nationally, go as far as I can and test myself against the best.”
The Tynemouth Squash Club player first hit a squash ball aged just five but started to He won the British Trampoline Elite Championship title (13-14 years) at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, making him the No 1 in the UK in his age group.
The youngster followed that with gold at the English Qualification Series One event in Gillingham, Kent – triumphing by a clear six marks.
He then bagged another gold at Telford in the British Gymnastics Spring Series One event.
His former coach Gary Short is not surprised by his protege’s success and tips him for more in the future.
He said: “Martin has had an incredibly successful year and done receive proper coaching when aged nine. Since then he has enjoyed huge success including becoming Northumberland junior champion in 2015 - and has been a member of Tynemouth SC since he was ten.
As top seed, he also claimed the boys’ title at the 2017 Scottish Junior Championships in Aberdeen - defeating Inverness-based Ross Henderson in four games.
That led to Todd being called into the Scottish under-23 squad for a tournament in Dublin in May of that year.
That would have been his first taste of international action, only for a hernia problem to scupper the youngster’s hopes of glory.
Now. though, after a frustrating 2017 and 2018, the new year is bringing new hope for one of the region’s brightest squash talents. so well for one so young. I worked with him for two years and from the outset you could see he had a lot of potential.
“He has a lovely style when he competes and all the success he is having is testament to the hard work he always puts in.”
Short added: “He has been selected for the British Gymnastics Profiling Pathway which means the country’s top coaches will be able to keep an eye on him and help him develop further.
“Martin is a fantastic prospect and if he keeps working hard and improving the way he is he can go a long way in the sport.”