Over the summer I read a book called Bounce by Matthew Syed which I highly recommend. It is an interesting read about the myth of talent and the power of practice and I will touch on parts of it across my half term round-ups. As a rough overview and introduction, Matthew believes that there is no such thing as talent and the main influencers of progress are practice, opportunity and motivation. Therefore, with the right attitude and purposeful practice every pupil can make great progress. It is the attitude of some that can hinder this as opposed to their ‘natural talent’. The ‘I’m not very good at this’ or the ‘I can’t’ at a young age is hindering progress. Let’s try to promote a growth mind-set within these young people. They have fantastic opportunities here at Westbourne House for purposeful practice on the sports fields and they can all progress and enjoy sport if they put their mind to it.
The start of the new academic year has brought the netball season for U8s-U10s and hockey for U11s-U13s. Running alongside these have been swimming and cross country.
Hockey
The 1st VII have had a good start to the season with some really good performances. At the Canford tournament they finished second and at our own tournament they finished fourth.
Earlier this week they had the IAPS Regional Qualifiers at Bede’s where they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the cup and the opportunity for Nationals but they went on to win the plate. Phoebe Perry and Juliette Franks have received their hockey colours for their consistent and excellent contribution to hockey at Westbourne House.
The 2nd VII have also had a fantastic start to the season earning ‘team of the week’. They put in a brilliant team performance at the Prior’s Field tournament and finished second.
Mr Pitman’s ‘Mighty Thirds’ are full of enthusiasm and good sportsmanship. They also get the results with a 71% win rate.
The 4th VII are goal hungry and have scored the most out of all the teams with 38 goals and 10 different pupils managing to get their name on the score sheet! They have also defended valiantly giving them a very positive goal difference.
The 5th VII have made amazing progress with quite a few relatively new to hockey. Keep up the good work! All of the girls in Years 7 and 8 have grown in confidence as hockey players and we are all looking forward to the second half of the season with the girls as they continue to progress and develop.
The Year 8 girls leave for their Hockey Tour to Holland in the first week of half term which will be a great learning experience for them and we hope they have an amazing time.
U11s
It’s been a positive start to the season for the U11 girls and things are starting to click. Towards the beginning of the season both teams were in the equivalent A & B PGS hockey tournaments where the B team managed to come second. The A team have also taken part in our own Westbourne House tournament and the IAPS Regional Qualifiers at Hurst. The girls have been working on moving into space, using the width and driving with the ball. To develop they need to work on improving the speed and accuracy of their passing and working together as a unit to cover the whole pitch. They are great ambassadors for Westbourne House showing sportsmanship and team spirit and are always supportive of each other. They are as gracious in victory as they are in defeat and their perseverance when things have not always gone their way has been outstanding. Miss Parrott and Mrs Sleep say that they continue to be a pleasure to coach.
The senior inter-patrol matches will be on the first Saturday after half term.
Netball
U10s
The U10 girls are going from strength to strength this term in netball. The As won the Oakwood tournament and came third in the Farleigh High 5s tournament. They have also been recipients of ‘team of the week’. The Bs have also fought hard at these tournaments and in their friendly matches they have won or drawn them all! The Cs have a win ratio of around 60%. All girls work hard during training and are progressing as a result.
U9s
The U9s have got the excitement of our tournament straight after half term which will be 7-a-side. They have played a variety of 5 and 7 a-side matches and have been fantastic at adapting to both. Their basic skills are becoming more consistent and they have managed to score a total of 49 goals while only conceding 37.
U8s
The U8s have had their first experience of matches and festivals! They have been playing 5-a-side but after half term we will start to introduce two new positions. We need to consolidate everything we have learned so far such as footwork, shooting, dodging, marking and positions.
The U9 and 10 inter-patrol matches are taking place on the first Saturday after half term.
Swimming
We have had our first swimming gala of the season (and first ever for the U9s) for both boys and girls against Cranleigh. It was a close affair but Cranleigh managed to pull ahead of us in the relays. It finished 213 to Cranleigh and 187 to Westbourne House. There were 13 race winners, 19 PBs (personal best) and 5 SBs (season best). Some great team spirit was shown as some pupils had to step up to swim different races or into the gala completely to cover absences on the day!
Next half term we have a full gala against Hurst and a girls only gala for Years 4-6. Boys, yours is in the spring term!
Cross Country
The U10 and U11 boys and girls took part in the annual Seaford College cross country competition. Everyone ran their best against lots of opposition on a testing 1.5k course. The top team place goes to the U11 boys who finished fourth.
The U11 girls also took part in the Prior’s Field cross country which was a new course for them. It was through uneven ground and a shorter distance than they are used to. They all tried their best and finished eighth out of 17 teams. They were true ambassadors for Westbourne House and earned ‘team of the week’.