Karate ace Dan Eccles in England squad

Dan Eccles, from Dudley, was picked as one of seven fighters from across the country to join up with the national squad – with those seven being cut down further for an elite squad next month.

The former Ellowses Hall Secondary School pupil, in Lower Gornal, now hopes to represent England in the Banzai Cup in Germany in September and at another competition in Venice.

Eccles, who is a black belt 2nd Dan, said: “I was at training when I found out so I didn’t want to be too excited as there were others waiting to hear, but inside I was like a little boy, saying ‘Yes!’. I have been working towards something and it paid off, so it was a good feeling.”

The 18-year-old, a first year sports therapy student at the University of Worcester, took part in a number of England selection days at the end of last year and was one of only seven across the country to be selected for his age group.

Eccles, who trains with the Kaisho Karate Club in Halesowen, has previously been selected for England Under-17s and competed for the England team at the Junior and Under-21 European Championships in Russia in 2018.

He first got into karate at nine years old after seeing a demonstration at his primary school.

“I remember someone came into my primary school when I was young and they did a karate demonstration and my mum asked me if I wanted to start lessons. After my first few lessons, I realised I was better at this than at football and I slowly started to build up and realised that I needed to focus on karate,” he said.

“Once I started to get into it and competing, that’s when I began to love the sport. What I love most is the competition aspect.”

Eccles, who combines his studies with more than 10 hours of training a week , receives support from the university through its sports scholarship programme, which gives students financial and academic support, but also access to specialist lifestyle advice.

“It really helps make achieving the goals and dreams that I have in life a lot easier,” added Eccles. “It’s also good to have someone to help you who is not focused on academic work or karate, but on me as a person, helping me to grow to be a better athlete. It’s good to know the support is there when I need it.

“It can be stressful at times and a lot for me, but I always try to take a step back. I always think about my end goal. I know it’s going to be hard, but something that’s worth doing is not going to be easy.”