HENRY Truman will be flying the flag for Furness when he pulls on his regional west at a national under-17s tournament.

The Barrow Thorns shooting guard has shown his mettle to come through regional trials and make it to the final North West squad.

Truman was one of more than 75 teenagers to attend the first week of trials, and came through week after week of assessments to be one of the 12 boys picked for the inter-regional competition.

The 16-year-old Barrow basketball ace, who recently received his GCSE results from Dowdales School, has been a star on the court for Thorns for the last few seasons.

He was picked for the North West for the first time two years ago – along with club-mates Emily Duerden, Emily Cox, Mollie Stronach and Caitlin Bilton – and has continued to impress ever since.

Thorns coach Sam Hearty, who will lead him in the under-18s team this year, as well as being a team-mate in the open-age men’s side, has been thrilled to see Truman’s progress.

Hearty puts the achievement in earning a North West call-up down to determination and hard work, with the player himself often requesting extra training sessions to boost his skills.

“He went down to the trials every weekend in Manchester,” said Hearty ahead of the tournament on September 9 and 10. “They started off with about 75 kids and they cut them down every week until they get to the final 12.

“He was invited down because of his previous years there and because he had been put forward as someone good enough to make it.

“He’s a great player. It’s his all about how much work he puts in and his commitment. Through the week, he is always asking for the extra sessions – he has put so much work in since he was a kid and it’s his reward to be selected.”

Hearty has coached Truman for eight years and has seen a lot of progress from the youngster in that time.

He added: “He has developed a lot and that is down to the amount of work he puts in. He’s the one who asks for extra sessions and works hard for it.

“He has been the top point-scorer for us every year he has played, he’s the best player in the team.

“It’s a big achievement for him to be picked for the North West. Usually the North West team is just full of Manchester kids and players from Cheshire. Before Henry, there hadn’t been someone from Barrow on the boys side for quite a few years.”