Northern`s Josie Barker had an amazing Junior County Championship recently. She had a titanic match against Laura Neill of Jesmond in the final of the girls under 17 event to win 11–8 in the fifth game in a very close match. This was her first County Championship win and came after 8 years of trying, often losing out as runner-up in very close finals.
At the end of the presentation ceremony, having already been presented with her County Championship trophy, she was then surprised and delighted to also be awarded the John Dale trophy for the 2014/15 season. This is a highly prestigious award, named in honour of multiple County Champion Winner, John Dale, who tragically died of cancer at a very young age. The trophy is awarded to the Northumbria junior that local coaches deem to have been the best representative for the county during the previous season. Previous winners include Michael Mattimore and Cai Younger.
Josie is a worthy winner of this award. She has represented the county for many years and always gives 100% every time she steps on court, as well as being an excellent representative on and off court.
This award caps a fantastic season which saw Josie rise to number 4 in the England National Rankings for Under 17 girls.
