Charlie overcomes prejudice to star in U14 Championship

● Third year pupil refused to give up after teacher told him ‘go and play a man’s game’

Charlie Jack is bucking the trend in the Borders. He has sidestepped rugby and started to carve out an impressive career in hockey.

The Selkirk High pupil achieved a real high this month when he was the goalscoring star in the boys’ East Region’s victory in the Notts Sport Under-14 Inter District Championship in Glasgow.

It is not surprising that the third-year pupil is a budding talent – his mum, Janet, played for Team GB in the 2000 Olympic Games.

But it has not been straightforward for Charlie, pictured, and he has had to overcome some prejudice to get to his present elite position.

Rugby dominates in the Borders, and the youngster has experienced some hard times on his route to the district team. “It has been very difficult for him,” explained Janet, whose own love of the sport was fostered at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh.

“He had played at Under-12 level and when he went to the High School he saw a poster for hockey. He went along, and was amazed to find he was the only boy. A teacher told him to ‘go and play a man’s game’. ”

Charlie was the victim of bullying but, to his credit, he persevered and refused to be deflected from his sporting ambition.

“Selkirk High has now been fantastic in encouraging him to make the most of his sport,”his mum continued.

Janet is the regional performance manager for the area and has coached and encouraged players at all levels.

She is desperate to change tradition and remove the perception that hockey is for girls, rugby for boys. “I encourage the schools to let the boys play in the first-year teams,” she said.

“But then a couple went along to a first-year tournament and weren’t allowed to play. Thankfully, that decision was overturned.

Charlie’s interest in hockey was instilled at an early age.

“I coached a lot of teams and he used to sit at the side of the pitch,” said Janet. “Then he picked up a stick and started joining in. I realised he was getting really interested when he started watching hockey matches online.”

He joined the Border Fjordhus Reivers and has enjoyed a rapid rise to fame. Over this winter, he trained regularly with the East Region Under-14 squad and is now considering joining an Edinburgh club.

If he does go on and make further progress, Charlie’s achievement won’t only be for himself.

He will, hopefully, have helped make boys in the Borders realise that hockey is just as worthy as rugby.