ENFIELD team leader Darrell Braiden has tipped the class of 2011 to follow in the footsteps of double Commonwealth Games champion Leon Baptiste at this summer’s Balfour Beatty London Youth Games.

Braiden, Enfield Council’s principal sports development officer, will once again lead the borough, one of 33, at the finals day in July as they bid to repeat a successful 2010 performance that saw them win gold in the angling, boys athletics and disability swimming.

Having claimed the boys athletics title last year, hopes are high that there will be another Baptiste in the borough, after the 25-year-old stormed to 200m and 4x100m relay gold in Delhi last year.

And Braiden believes that thanks to the impact the Games has had on community sport in Enfield, there will be more than a few following Baptiste’s lead in the not too distant future.

“I really enjoy leading on the Enfield entry as the Everybody Active Sports Development Team share the responsibilities and each officer takes responsibility for around five or six sports each, so it’s a real team effort,” the 31-year-old said.

“I would not like to single any team manager or club out as we owe them all a great deal of thanks for assisting us with the Games. Without them all we would not be anywhere near as successful. Long may the support they give us continue.

“Teams to watch this year are angling, table tennis and athletics in particular. We also tend to do very well at the disability sports so keep an eye out for them as well and hopefully we can have some real performers.”

Last year Enfield finished eighth overall as the Jubilee Trophy went to Bromley, who edged out Croydon and 2009 winners Havering into second and third respectively.

Braiden insists that the final placings pale into comparison with the surge in community sport brought about by the London Youth Games, but he is expecting Enfield to be battling it out for the medals in a number of sports.

“In the past two seasons we have finished sixth and eighth so we are hoping for another top-ten finish again this year,” he added.

“We have won the angling the past two years so hopefully we can get the hat trick this year. Also our disability teams have been in the top three in the last three years led by Ian Reddington.”

Balfour Beatty is committed to helping raise the aspirations, motivation and attainment levels of young people in the communities in which it operates and has committed over £2million to help develop the London Youth Games until 2013.