The recently-unified team from the boys' Junior Lyceum at Sta Venera have just played their first ever match in the U-17 national league organised by the Malta Handball Association.

Under the guidance of Joseph Tanti, the school's PE teacher, the team only started training a few weeks ago, thus the first game was always going to be an uphill struggle.

In their debut, the JL team met D-HS who have been playing for the past five years, ironically the last two under Tanti.

The team from the college train after school hours and the oldest player is 14 years. D-HS did not find it hard to secure victory.

Nevertheless, the enthusiasm surrounding the JL team and coach will surely help them to improve and be more competitive in the coming years.

In this project, the school team is being assisted by the Luxol Handball Club who are offering sports apparel for the games and training.

"Definitely, more help is needed as more equipment is required to fulfill the boys' sporting potential and ambitions," the school said in a statement.

"The idea behind this project also befits the Junior Lyceum as the 40 students in the squad feel they belong to the college. This should encourage them to put in a bigger effort to do well in their academic and social life at school."