 |
| Hockey U11B Girls Team 'Blog' : |
|
Wednesday 14th March Eagle House 0 St Neot's 4 This was , to be honest, a rather disappointing way to end the season, not because of the result as the opposition were a well coached side who would have competed well with our A team. Last term we actually played some rather good hockey, yet today it was rather a different team who turned up. It is a shame for some who gave their all during the two periods, especially Lola and Jemima, and Georgia who had to play two matches once Alex had hobbled off and Lucky had been sent in as she really was not well enough to play a full match. Georgia showed the effort that we expect from players when they represent the school, and her best was all that can ever be asked. Lola similarly worked tirelessly - thank you. That is the end of this season and you will be moving up to the senior sides next year. You are all able to play better than this, but you must work hard on the basic skills. You must hold the stick correctly (it also helps if it is the right size) and you must move your feet to play the ball from a stronger postion, all of which has been emphasized throughout the year. Above all, you must listen to and accept coaching tips given both as a group and individually. As I have said, you have played better than this. Wednesday 1st February v Cranleigh Team: Ellie Moore (C) Nellie Bull, Kaisey Imman Tyler-Smith, Jemima Hince (GK), Lucky Zhang, Alex Edwards, Claudia Pidgley, Lola Oates, Emily-Louisa Brett, Eagle House 0 Cranleigh 1 Players of the Match: Ellie Moore & Claudia Pidgley Medals should have been the order of the day for all players and spectators alike with the wind chill factor making the temperature well below zero. The girls bravely stripped off to just their playing kit but with all girls playing we needed to have the extra layers at the end of the game. Lucky and Kaisey worked tirelessly together trying to distribute the ball out to the wing where Lola had positioned herself for the ball. Cranleigh were strong to tackle but unfortunately we were not quick enough to respond so the majority of the play was in our half defending the goal. Our defence did a stirling job, Claudia and Ellie went to meet the attacker, covering each other as the second line of defence. Claudia produced some accurate strong hits up the field and Ellie demonstrated skilful stick work getting the ball away from the player and distributing it out to the wing. Lucky also played an important role here, acting as sweeper, often fending off the ball in midfield. Jemima (GK) made some intelligent saves, accurately kicking the ball wide and not back to the opposition. When we broke through their defence, Lola was lacking in support. Here we need to have all our forwards in the D to allow us to make the most of the opportunities to score. The second half produced more of the same with both sides battling it out to produce the first goal of the match. We had opportunities to score but even Kaisey’s powerfully hit shots across the D could not find the target. A quick break from Cranleigh saw them produce the only goal of the game. The game was very even with some good play from both teams. We need to get more power behind our passing and practice striking the ball on the move. Thank you so much to the parents for their support on the sideline and especially to Mr Edwards for his taxi service.
U11B’s vs Feltonfleet Wednesday 18th January 2012 Eagle House Won 4-0 Team: Emily-Louisa Brett, Kaisey-Imman Tyler-Smith, Claudia Pidgley, Lucky Zhang- Captain, Alex Edwards, Jemima Hince, Lola Oates and Nellie Bull. Girl of the game: Lucky Zhang A great start to the year girls! This was the first time I have seen you play in a hockey match and I was very impressed. You worked very well as a team and encouraged each other throughout the match. Feltonfleet had a very good defence and managed to stop some of our attempts at goal. However, with our accurate and quick passing of the ball in the D we were able to see some fantastic goals by Emily-Louisa, Kaisey-Imman and Lola. A few things you need to work on in future matches and training session is to give stronger passes when you want the ball to travel far. This will stop the opposition from intercepting hits like Feltonfleet did. Also make sure you don’t touch the ball with your feet!! Overall a good match girls- well done!
Wednesday 7th December Team: Eleanor Sherlock, Nellie Bull, Kaisey Tyler-Smith, Jemima Hince, Lucky Zhang, Alex Edwards, Claudia Pidgley(C), Lola Oates & Emily-Louisa Brett Eagle house 1 (Lola) Highfield 2 This was a very unlucky match, losing by just one goal. We attacked aggressively throughout, playing on grass for the first time this season. The goal was scored by Lola during the first half after good team play, determination and hard hitting. Our defence of Lucky and Claudia was very strong; Lucky with her quick reactions on the goal line stopping a great strike and Claudia with her stick down closing down the play. Emily-Louisa was up front as the front line of defence. Sadly this was Eleanor's last match but with her on the right wing, keeping her width well and calling when she was free, she played very well. In the second half we started to crowd so couldn't move the ball swiftly up the field but soon the team spaced out and the passing improved. Kaisey was working hard in the centre passing the ball and creating opportunities for goals. She had some great strikes but unfortunately slightly off target. The opposition came back hard and managing to get past our defence who had all crept up too far to get involved in the game - it was too cold to stay back! Jemima saved some marvellous shots but the determination of the Highfield to score meant that the ball went past her into the goal. One of our favourite moments of the match was a short corner. Alex gave the most wonderful powerful strike to Kaisey outside the D who stopped the ball brought it into the circle and struck another great shot at goal. It just missed the goal by a whisker but fantastic hockey - Olympic Stuff!!!! Thank you Eleanor for being a great team mate, we will miss you loads, good luck in Germany. Blog written by Alex Edwards, Jemima Hince, Lola Oates, Eleanor Sherlock and Lucky Zhang Thank you girls, you played very well.
Wednesday 23rd November Eagle House Holme Grange The team lost against an extremely strong side. They put up a brave performance but this was a mis-match of sides
Wednesday 16th November Team: Eleanor Sherlock, Nellie Bull, Kaisey Imman Tyler-Smith, Jemima Hince(GK), Lucky Zhang, Alex Edwards, Claudia Pidgley, Lola Oates, & Emily Louisa Brett Eagle House 3 (Eleanor 2 Kaisey 1) Lambrook 1 Having not seen this team in a competitive situation since Wellington, it was with great delight that I witnessed their impressive progress against Lambrook. The team showed great determination from the first whistle, making every effort to get the ball out wide to the wings. Upfront Eleanor was quick to find space and ask for the ball and with Lola and Kaisey providing her with ball she soon scored the first goal. The play was very even up and down the pitch but we played well as a team, looking up for the free player and passing on. Lucky, out on the wing for the first half played with real determination making many successful tackles. Claudia and Emily proved a solid defence, closing down many attacks and clearing the ball way from the danger zone. They both really got involved in the game.and covered each other position when one moved up. When we allowed the ball through the defence, Jemima produced some great saves, not waiting for the ball but charging down the attack. Emily played with much greater confidence as did Lola and Alex. All in all, a good team performance. Well done everyone
Saturday 12th November Eagle House U11b 2 The Oratory U11 b 1 Following on after a well contested and very evenly contested A team game, it took us a little time to settle in, to establish our positions and to work out how we were going to play the game. Then what a game it turned out to be, and both sides should be pleased with the commitment and endeavour they all showed during the afternoon. It soon became clear that Lola should control the midfield and this she did with intelligence and comparative quickness of mind (until she ran out of energy during the last few minutes). She stopped the ball, looked up and released it to Eleanor and Nellie(who played her best game ever) on the right wing or to Kaisey or Alex on the left. The early ball gave the wings space and they could move the ball up to Emily up front left or right. By doing this we created a number of chances, some of which we should have converted to give us a little bit more of a cushion especially when The Oratory smacked in a very well taken short corner, when we stood off the tackle. This was a shame as generally we were very competitive in loose play chasing after the ball and making tackles to regain possession. Claudia and Lucky were very solid at the back leaving Jemima only a couple of saves to make in each half. These two backs worked in tandem covering each other very well. I am not one who believes in man (or girl) of the match as hockey is a team game. Today we played as a team and in some ways we played better as a team than the senior team. Two good goals, one in each half, were a just and deserved reward for the endeavour and hard work that everybody put in. I hope the myriad of parents enjoyed watching the improvement your practices have realised. Now we must continue to work in the same way through to the end of term, taking on board the points of coaching made collectively and individually. As a group, we must all make sure that our bottom hand is lower as this will be stronger in the tackle and for the pass, and we must all make sure that we concentrate on moving continuously into the right positions in attack and in defence. Think about which side of the opponent we should sensibly be. We will continue after a deserved weekend's rest.
Wellington College Mini Hockey Festival Wednesday 28th September Team: Claudia©, Alex, Lola, Lucky, Eleanor, Emily-Louisa, Kaisey-Imman, Nellie and Jemima GK What a way to start the hockey season, a glorious afternoon and great competition! There was only one B team in the tournament and that was ours. The girls knew that this was going to be a tough afternoon of hockey but acquitted themselves very well and should be justly proud of their performance. EH defended extremely well. Led by Claudia(C) the defence were brave and really went in for the tackles, turning many a ball around. Unfortunately it was hard to get the ball out to the wings so our attacking play suffered because of it. All the girls worked hard out in the heat all afternoon and learnt an incredible amount through playing and watching other teams. A special mention must go to three girls who stood out for me. Claudia who was sterling in defence, Lola who only picked up a stick last week but played with increasing enthusiasm and determination and lastly Jemima who was our little ‘tiger’ in goal. Our best games were probably against Hoe Bridge who were an extremely talented and well oiled machine and Highfield. They only managed to get three goals past us due to Jemima’s goal keeping skills and Claudia’s ferocious defence. Hoe Bridge went on to win the tournament. Highfield only managed to sneak one goal past our goal keeper in the second half. Great stuff! A fantastic BBQ and a medal made up for not winning a match but the girls had a thoroughly enjoyable but exhausting afternoon.
|
