A DELIGHTED Flintshire teenager has reflected excitedly on her selection for the Wales U21 netball squad but admits that there’s still a long way to go.

Mollie Underhill, 18, was named as part of the 26-player national Under 21 netball squad for 2020 when the announcement was made on Tuesday.

The teenager, who is currently completing her A-Levels in the Hwb at Connah’s Quay, was one of five players to have been selected from North East Wales.

She was chosen alongside Ellice Gallagher and Ellie Blackwell from Mold Netball Club, Katie Aindow from the North Dragons Netball Club in Wrexham, and her Deeside Netball Club teammate Sapphira Fisher.

Speaking of her successful selection to the Welsh U21 long squad, Mollie Underhill said: “I was excited to get the email letting me know I’d been named in in the squad.

“I’m really looking forward to start training with the rest of the squad members and working towards selection for the Youth World Cup in 2021.

“Now I’ve made the long squad my main aim is to get into the short squad, so there’s still a long way to go.”

Deeside Netball Club Head Coach, Merle Hamilton, added: “We were excited to learn that two of our top players have been selected into the U21 Welsh Netball squad.

“Both Sapphira Fisher and Mollie Underhill are part of the Deeside Regional team that plays most of their matches in the North West Region of England.

“This team has given them the opportunity to enhance their netball craft at another level, with the support of the other experienced Deeside players that make up this team.

“Deeside is proud of its history of players that have been selected for Wales and played for their country and we wish both girls good luck as Wales works its way towards the World Youth Cup which is being held in Fiji in 2021.”

Qualification for next year’s Netball World Youth Cup begins later in the year, with the Welsh Under 21 side looking to improve on their 13th place finish last tie out, in Botswana in 2017.

In that tournament, Wales lost out in group games against Trinidad and Tobago, England, and the future host nation Fiji, before convincingly beating Grenada in their final match.

The full Wales Under 21 squad for 2020 is as follows:

Alanah Heath Drury, Caris Morgan, Carys Llewellyn, Catrin Roy, Charlotte Jennings-Evans, Darcie Dunn, Ellice Gallagher, Ellie Blackwell, Elysse Haywood, Esme Cornelius, Georgia Hellerman, Georgia Jenkins, Katie Aindow, Lauren Francis, Macey Lane, Macy Morgan, Malkia Beadle, Mari Enoch, Martha Scott, Mollie Underhill, Nan Williams, Nia Evans, Rhian Evans, Sapphira Fisher, Sophie Margetts, Tia Davies.