A handball player from Somerset has thanked England Handball's Elite Performance Academy for helping her achieve her dream.

Heidi Warren, who plays for the GB Women's Handball team, as well as Silkeborg-Voel U19 Liga team in Denmark, said the pathway has been instrumental in her success.

The 18-year-old said: "The performance pathway has been great, and it has continued to develop, but when I was younger, even having the monthly regional sessions really pushed me to want to play further.

"It also helped me realise that there were more people who knew about handball and the exposure to a higher level of the sport has been so important.

"Training at Loughborough with the Elite Performance Academy really advanced my handball skills, and the contacts I now have in other countries because of the coaches has been so helpful.

"The academy have helped with me finding new clubs as it is really difficult to do on your own."

Heidi's journey into handball began when she was 13-years-old at secondary school.

She explained: "I was one of those sporty kids who kind of did all the sports and I had never heard of handball before, until I got put on this team sheet for a handball tournament.

"When I was there, I got picked up by a coach from Somerset who said that he saw some good attributes in my technique.

"He then invited me down to some local training sessions so I could try the sport out locally and that was how I started my handball journey."

After a successful trial for the South-West region, Heidi trained monthly with players from Dorset, Somerset, and Devon.

This opportunity led her to meet players from the England Handball Elite Performance Academy, which convinced her to join them in Loughborough.

Her involvement with the South-West team led to her recognition by the Great Britain team.

After two years at Loughborough, Heidi was representing the GB Senior Women's side and headed out to Ikast High School to play in Denmark and study through the link that England Handball have with the school.

Heidi now lives in Denmark and plays at U-19 level for her club, Silkeborg-Voel.

She wants to encourage more people to get involved with the sport.

She said: "I would tell people to keep asking questions about the sport and reach out to local clubs and organisations.

"The more people you talk to, the more you'll learn about the sport and I'm still learning things about the sport today that I didn't know, because it's obviously such a big sport in any other country but England, really, which is a shame, but it is growing.

"But I would definitely say, if you enjoy it, just keep going because I never knew I'd be in a different country, like four years ago, which is crazy.

"If you like it, keep playing and keep joining clubs and asking questions, because there are way more links than you think and there are a lot more people in England who can help you than you may think."

For more information, visit englandhandball.com.