Miss Chambers, Head of Girls’ Sport, sums a positive term of sport.
The second half of term has seen the seniors and U11s finish their hockey season and the U8s-U10s finish their netball season. It will be all change after Christmas with matches for the top end of the school in netball and the younger end of the school in hockey.
The seniors, U10s and U9s have already had a sneaky match against Highfield in their sport for next term. The Year 8 girls enjoyed their tour during half term where we travelled to Spain to play both hockey and netball; the girls were a credit to the school. We have also had a couple more swimming galas in this half of term, helping to prepare swimmers for IAPS in the spring term.
Continuing from last half term, we have been looking at our style of play - so the process and not just the outcome. I have recently read an interesting article titled ‘If it's under W for Won, does anyone ask you how?’. This article talks about school sport and the fact that the emphasis should be on skill, creativity and enterprise. There should be moments of magic when children try to experiment, and magic is not ability dependent: it can happen at all levels and ages. By doing this, it is possible to transcend the mundane and not just play it ‘safe’. In order to do this we should liberate the players and tolerate mistakes, and be prepared to risk losing to win with style. In hockey Mr Whitehouse would call it playing ‘proper’ hockey. I call it pretty hockey or clever netball.
Hockey
All hockey teams are in to double digits with the amount of games they have played. The U12s have had their IAPS but unfortunately didn’t place.
Seniors
The senior coaches are proud of all the girls and the progress they have made this season. The 1sts have had a fantastic season and the squad have worked really hard throughout training and matches. They have strung together some fantastic performances against some strong sides and finished 3rd at the Farleigh tournament this half term. The 2nds have shown great teamwork throughout the season and ended the term with three wins in a row.
The 3rds highlights were:
- receiving the Team of the Week award for training an inexperienced side and hosting them perfectly, and
- the tense final match of the season where they scored a goal in the last minutes to secure a 4-3 victory against Cranleigh.
The 4ths team have really enjoyed the hockey season and have persevered through some tough matches. The defence had a good season, not conceding many goals. The midfielders showed massive improvement, working hard to improve their passing accuracy and the forwards worked hard to create chances.
The 1sts and 3rds have both averaged just under 3 goals per match. The 1sts have the best goal difference, but the 2nds have the best win ratio of just under 50%.
|
Team |
Top goal scorer |
Most MVP votes |
|
1st |
L. James |
L. James |
|
2nd |
E. Schwarz |
P. Bigham & E. Schwarz |
|
3rd |
S. Mitford |
L. Langmead & T. Partridge |
|
4th |
J. Whitehead |
J. Whitehead |
U11s
The As have had 12 players in their squad this season and everyone has contributed towards the team when they have played. Nine of these players have their name on the score sheet and nine of them have been awarded MVP on at least one occasion. This demonstrates a real depth and strength to our squad. They have played some truly pretty hockey.
The U11Bs have evolved throughout the season, with an exciting mix of players all making valuable contributions. The girls have battled hard to claim numerous victories and learnt valuable lessons on the few occasions they were beaten by stronger teams.
The Cs played as a true team this season, learning the value of looking up and passing. They have been really supportive of each other and, as a result, had a very positive term.
Overall, the U11s have had a fantastic season. The U11As won the Bryanston tournament. The As and Bs have averaged 5 goals per match and the Cs 4! The As have a goal difference of just under 70 and win ratio of 80%; the Bs have a goal difference of 52 and win ratio of just under 80% and the Cs have a goal difference of 14 and a win ratio of over 60%! Well done to the U11s!
|
Team |
Top goal scorer |
Most MVP votes |
|
A |
Z. Saebi |
D. Timberlake |
|
B |
J. Tracey |
A. Davis |
|
C |
A. Rochford |
E. Read, A. Smith, T. Morgan & A. Rochford |
Netball
U10s
The girls now have greater speed and awareness on court, as well as increased accuracy when passing. This has made a huge difference in match play. The highlight of the season was the PGS Tournament.
The U10s have had a tough season but have made brilliant progress, which will stand them in good stead for next season. They have won 4 matches.
|
Team |
Most MVP votes |
|
A |
E. Stewart |
|
B |
A. Young |
U9s
U9s have developed into strong, tenacious netball players this term and made huge progress. They have a positive attitude and are determined to improve. They have really enjoyed their netball and their positioning, footwork and accurate passing have been the elements of their game which have improved the most.
The U9s have experienced lots of match play, which they have benefitted greatly from. The As have a win ratio of nearly 70% and the Bs and Cs have won a quarter of their matches. The As have the best goal difference of 14.
|
Team |
Most MVP votes |
|
A |
Z. Chinwala & F. Baker |
|
B |
I. Akers-Douglas |
|
C |
R. Passam |
U8s
This year the U8s have played many more matches than in previous years. This experience of match play has benefitted them hugely and I am really impressed with everything they have learnt and retained. We have looked at shooting, dodging, marking, passing, footwork and positioning and they are able to apply this in their matches. Since half term they have played in two 5 a-side festivals, one hosted by Oakwood and the other PGS, where they had some fantastic matches. They have also played a triangular at Boundary Oak and had their final match of the season against Cranleigh, which was definitely their best match. Well done for finishing on a high!
Swimming
We have had two more swimming galas this term: one mixed against Hurst and one all girls against Seaford, Meoncross and PHS. We managed to beat Hurst 171-157 and again butterfly was a real strength of ours. The U9-11 girls gala with three other schools was a new fixture this year and was a really good event. There were some very close races and Westbourne just managed to pull ahead in the overall standings. The U9 team performed particularly well.