Surbiton youngster Holly Munro insists she is happy to bide her time in England’s U18 squad, despite mixing it with older age groups, writes Ben Baker.

Munro helped England U18s claim EuroHockey Youth Championships gold back in July, beating Belgium 2-0 in the final in Santander.

Next year she has the chance to do it all over again with another EuroHockey Youth Championships scheduled for next July.

However, England’s U21s squad will also be playing in the Junior World Cup next year and Kingston Grammar pupil Munro could yet feature.

But at the age of 17 Munro, who is from Kew, admits she is in no rush to climb the international ladder.

“This season has been great already and it was amazing to win gold in Santander with England,” said Munro, an SSE Next Generation athlete.

“Next year I don’t know whether I will be with the U18s or the U21s but there are big competitions for both so I don’t mind which one.

“There is another Under-18 European Championships and there is also a World Cup for the Under-21s and it would be great to be in either one.

“It would be a massive honour to be in the U21s but I am happy to be in the U18s and be a bit more of a leader.

“My confidence is high in the U18s and it would be great to be one of the leaders in the squad and take the team forward so I am happy either way.”

Munro was speaking at an SSE Next Generation workshop in Reading, where the teenager got the chance to speak to employees of the company that support her.

And the Surbiton ace insisted it was nice to give something back to those who have helped her reach such heady heights in her career so far.

“It was really good to do the SSE Next Generation workshop as it feels like you have a chance to give back,” she added.

“It was nice to chat to those who support you and answer some of their questions and they get to know you and you get to know them a bit better.

“It is building an understanding and hopefully it will help me get better and better.”

* SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen