Ten year old Alex Blake from Apley and Grace Garbett, aged nine, from Bratton, were part of the triumphant Team GB under-10s in the Amateur Athletics Union Junior Olympics held at Huntington Beach, California.
Both children scored goals in the group stages of the competition.
The pair, who train with Shrewsbury Scorpions at Shrewsbury Sports Centre, were also both given the honour of acting as assistant captains at the tournament which included Teams at all age groups from as far afield as Canada, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the host nation.
Supporting them was Grace’s older brother, volunteer coaching assistant George Garbett, 17, who said: “Although the GB squad was built from the very best young players in the UK and they had trained as a team since January, they had not actually played a single match together until they arrived in California.
“We had been warned that the standard of hockey in the USA was exceptionally high, and to prepare the children for the possibility that they would get beaten in every game.
“But somehow they gelled really quickly and played with real heart and determination for each other and their flag. I can’t describe how proud I was of them, especially in the final which we won 6-5 in sudden-death overtime.”
New College student George, who has also helped to coach Alex and Grace at Telford Venom ice hockey club for the past three years, was even given the chance to act as main coach during two of the international games in California.
“It was a bit nerve-wracking but an amazing experience to run the bench myself,” he said. “The kids were brilliant throughout the tournament and we all enjoyed the matches, even the ones we didn’t win.
“Alex and Grace were a real credit to Telford, and to Great Britain.”
Despite a punishing schedule of 11 matches in eight days, there was enough free time to see the sights of Los Anglese as well as supporting the GB men’s and ladies’ teams in the senior competitions, with games played at the Honda Centre, home of the NHL Anaheim Ducks.
Defenceman Alex said: “It was very hot to play out there in LA and the matches were really tough but it was great to meet teams from all over the world and the rinks were amazing.”
Grace, who plays at centre, added: “Winning a gold medal was like a dream come true. I still can’t believe we managed it!”
The trip was organised by the British Inline Puck Hockey Association, the sport’s governing body in the UK. The Team GB under-10s were seeded as ‘A’ league but played against teams as highly ranked as ‘AAA’.
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