TWO future England prospects squad have said that "awesome" Stourport Hockey Club is crucial to their lives, both on and off the pitch.

Ike Newman, 13 and Fran Baron, 15, both share the dream of playing for their country and believe that the "brilliant" training at Stourport Hockey Club can take them there.

They added they enjoyed going to the club as a way of making new friends, while their parents said that playing for Stourport had been a major factor in their development.

Fran, a pupil of Holy Trinity School in Kidderminster, joined the club when she was 10. She plays for the under-18 teams as well as being the youngest member of the ladies' first team.

She has also played regularly for Worcestershire and has Midlands trials in the next few weeks.

The trials are a stepping stone to a place in the national squad.

She said: "I love playing for Stourport Hockey Club. It's awesome. The coaching is brilliant and has really pushed me forward.

"They have made me into the player I am. If I keep progressing, it is all down to them. Everyone from the coaches and the captains down to my team-mates has had a big impact on me."

Fran's mother, Terri Baron, 48, managing director of Rotary Printers in Stourport, said they were a hockey playing family and were proud that Fran had taken up the sport so seriously.

She added: "Fran is very much a team player in life. She is a house captain at school and has a real empathy with her fellow pupils. A lot of that is down to playing hockey."

Ike, 13, a pupil of Bewdley High School, who lives in Ribbesford, plays for the club's Badgers team and is also a Worcestershire team captain.

He said: "The training at Stourport Hockey Club is good but after the fire we don't have the kit for people who want to join.

"It's bad and quite hard really.

"The number of children who come to the club is brilliant. I have made loads of friends and the club is really friendly."

Ike's mother, Fran Newman, 36, a photographic agent, said: "It's a very family-orientated club, with a large number of youngsters involved. The juniors are taken really seriously and are commended for their abilities."

She added: "Ike's hockey would really suffer without the club. They are so encouraging.

"At the moment, everyone there is pulling together and trying to do their best to keep the club running."