Ben Hayes - Basketballer

Merely aged seven years old, Ben stood out playing basketball for Wells Warriors and progressed through the ranks to Somerset.  At under-12 level, he appeared for the South-West England Development squad in the prestigious Flanders Cup - the squad played against representative teams from sixteen different nations. 

Playing for Taunton Tigers under-14s in the 09/10 season, Ben enjoyed strong runs in several regional competitions and a second-place finish in the National League, which secured procedure League play-offs.  The team made the quarter finals, losing to Newham All-Stars - a London-based outfit, one of the best young basketball teams in the country - but it secured the Tigers a joint 5th finish out of all the under-14 teams in the country.  He was also awarded Player's Player, owing to the integral part he played in the squad's success.

 

Last season was a particularly fruitful year for the point-guard: he made the final 24 of the under-17 South-West Development squad, aged just 15.  He also appeared for Taunton Tigers under-18s, who won the South-West Conference, and made his debut for Wells Warriors Seniors.  Ben is five-feet tall - a large disadvantage in a sport which depends heavily upon height - and regularly plays above his age-group, making his achievements appear all the more remarkable.