An 18-year-old sports student at Strode College in Street and aspiring handball player from Walton left Somerset for a specialist sports academy in Denmark at the weekend to spend a year being coached by professionals and playing for a highly-regarded handball club in Ikast as well as learning a new language and culture.

Joe Nelson was introduced to handball by his PE teacher at Crispin School in Street and was soon playing at club and regional level with Somerset Spartans.

In 2017 he captained the Crispin School handball team who went on to become National School Champions and this was closely followed by his first GB cap in 2018.

Joe has now gained his third cap at Under-18 level competing in tournaments in Sweden, Denmark and Portugal before his season was cut short in March by Covid-19.

Training has continued in the garage at home with some borrowed weights and a fitness schedule from his new club coach in Denmark and with his club coach at Stroud Handball with a watchful eye on travel restrictions to Denmark and the academy reopening.

Handball is introduced at primary school in Europe and is as popular as football in Denmark with every town having arenas and teams ranging from Under-10s to adult.

The South West now boasts teams in Bristol, Poole, Devon, Stroud and Street playing in regional and national leagues with the hope of securing coveted academy places via the talent pathway that Joe has been following via England Handball.

Joe will continue to travel back to the UK to attend GB training camps at Stoke Mandeville and is looking forward to the rescheduled European qualifiers in Bulgaria in January 2021.

Handball is self-funded and Joe has been supported by Glastonbury-based charity TS5C who assist local talented athletes with training and travel costs.

This has been an enormous help to him and his family as he continues his journey towards his goal to play as a professional in Europe in the near future.