POSSIBLE future Super League professionals and Great Britain players had another taste of the sport's potential this week at the first York City Knights' development programme's gifted and talented sessions.

Coaches from City of York Council and the Oaklands Sports Partnership teamed up with the Knights' development team to put more than 100 hand-picked players through their paces.

Every school from the York area that took part in the recent tag rugby festivals was asked to select two boys and two girls for an elite-style day of training that it is hoped will lift dozens of players onto the next level of the game.

Learning stations included handling, passing and moving, SAQ (or Speed Agility Quickness) exercises and a healthy lifestyle workshop.

Knights' development chief Jason Ramshaw said: "It's all about identifying talent really early. If we identify them in Year 5 and 6 we can continue their progress."

More than 60 boys took part in the gifted and talented sessions and several will link-up with the Learn To Train squad, which will eventually feed the North Yorkshire Service Area team.

There is no North Yorkshire set-up for girls at the moment, but the development officers are trying to direct them into local clubs, from where they can make headway into the regional squads and ultimately aim for a national call-up.

Updated: 10:43 Wednesday, July 20, 2005