HE HAS one eye on playing at an Olympic Games, but for now Oxted Hockey Club's Jonty Griffiths is preparing to learn just what it will take for him to get there.
The 17-year-old from Banstead has been selected as one of seven youngsters from Surrey to attend the Youth Sport's Trust National Talent Camp at Loughborough University, which takes place in the new year.
He will join 90 other aspiring athletes at the sixth national camp, which aims to reflect on an outstanding year for sport in the UK and inspire the youngsters to continue their journey to elite level sport.
And Griffiths, who currently plays at right or left half for Oxted and England U18, is excited about the prospect of the four-day camp.
"First of all, I want to enjoy it," he said.
"But I want to see if I can add anything else to my training to help better myself and my performances.
"If there is anything I can add to what I am already doing, then that will be great."
The camp is quite intense though, with 6am starts, two training sessions a day and a series of challenging workshops led by leading sports psychologists and athlete mentors.
The youngsters will also hear from guest speakers such as Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree from the England RFU coaching team, along with mountaineer Bonita Norris - the youngest British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
In addition, the young athletes will also hear from Youth Sport Trust ambassador Darren Campbell, who won gold in the 4x100m relay at the Olympics in Athens in 2004 and silver four years before on his own in the 200m.
And Griffiths, who attends Whitgift School in Croydon, is looking forward to attending the camp, which has previously played host to Olympic gold medallist rower Katherine Copeland.
He hopes it will help him achieve his goals for the future, having already progressed from his early days in hockey at Purley Walcountians through to England U16 and now England U18.
He said: "My ultimate goal is to play at an Olympic Games, maybe the one after Rio.
"But prior to that, hopefully next year I can go to the European Championships with the U18s.
"After that, I would love to be able to go to the U21 World Cup in India."
For now though, Griffiths is focused on the upcoming camp and playing his hockey at Oxted, having joined from fellow National Conference East side Holcombe this season.
He said: "I have got quite a lot of minutes this season and I am enjoying the hockey we are playing," he said.
"I like to attack and get involved going forward, but I also work hard in defence and I am enjoying it at Oxted."
Griffiths will travel to Loughborough for the camp, which begins on January 3, before returning in time for the resumption of the outdoor season with Oxted.
