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| Netball Under 13 Team 'Blog' |
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Wednesday 18th March 2010 U13A V Lambrook Won 19-18 (Quarters 8-4, 1-5, 4-6, 6-3) Opposition's player of the match: Charlotte This was a really exciting culmination to our netball season with a nail-biting finish that thankfully went our way in the end! In the first quarter we were the superior team throughout - I even considered swapping positions around as we were 6-0 up within five minutes. However, Lambrook fought back in the second quarter and we became careless with our passing. To add to our problems, Alex and charlotte went from being the mean team in the circle; preempting each others every move, to not being able to catch or get the closest of goals into the net! Unfortunately, Ashleigh also fell and bled profusely from both hands and knees, meaning we had to get Menna onto the court who was in a games lesson! Even after a settling talk at half time and Ashleigh bravely coming back on, we seemed to be playing a different team, as Lambrook upped their game and went into the lead in the third quarter. However, I am so pleased to say that the Eagle House girls showed real strength of character and tenacity in their desire to win this match. It felt almost like being at Wembley - the crowd of parents and staff watching multiplied and there was a real sense of determination, focus and team work from our team. Although Charlotte's shooting didn't get much better (!) her movement around the court and the passing between her and Alex were suburb. Kim was also dogged in defense and she was a vital link in moving the ball down the court. A nervous coach was happier than anyone when the final whistle went with us one goal ahead! I have really enjoyed coaching you this season - I hope that you all continue to play superb netball in your senior schools. Well done! Wednesday 10th March 2010 U13A V Highfield U13A/B Won 14-5 Opposition's player of the match: Eliza The Eagle House girls have now really gelled as a team. They are playing with confidence and maturity. Although their passing became a little too fast and erratic at times, on the whole, we looked much more organised and skilful than our opposition. Well done to the whole squad. Hopefully we can maintain the focus and win our last match of the season againt Lambrook next week. Friday 5th March 2010 IAPS Regional Netball Tournament V St George's Drew 6-6 V Wellingborough Lost 1-12 V Winchester House Lost 4-12 V Ashfold Lost 4-6 V Dragon Lost 4-6 V Lambrook Won 10-5 V St Andrew's Won 9-1 Team: Charlotte (GA) Captain, Alex (GS), Eliza (WA), Heidi (C), Ashleigh (WD), Kim (GD), Holly (GK) res: Romy, Team manager Jaya The standard of netball at the Regionals is always very high. I was proud of the girls today, as on the whole, we upped our game and played the best netball I have seen the team play. I think that our best game was the first against St George's. The passing was tight, movement balanced and shooting excellent. However, all of these things faltered at little at times during the day which meant that we gave a couple of games away that were in fact extremely close. It is hard to pick out any one of the girls for a special mention as they all put their heart and souls into their play today. However, I would like to thank Jaya who performed the job of team manager superbly - A couple of staff from other schools mentioned how they would like her to come and get their school organised! Wednesday 3rd March 2010 U13 V The Dolphin Won 14-2 (Quarters 6-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-0) Player of the match: Ashleigh We were missing Charlotte, Jaya and Alex this week who were doing scholarships, this meant that some of the team had to play out of position. However, the girls rose to the challenge and worked excellently together. Kim demonstrated that she had an aptitude for shooting and appeared to very much enjoy moving from attack to defense. Ashleigh captained the team well and led by example - her arms and legs seem to get longer every week and her ability to jump for interceptions is excellent. It was also great to see Alys playing excellently as part of the team. We were the strongest netball side throughout the game and had a well deserved win. Wednesday 24th February 2010 U13A V The Oratory Prep Won 20-10 (Quarters 5-1, 11-4, 16-5, 20-10) Players of the match: Charlotte & Kim This was a very good game where Eagle House looked like the stronger team throughout. We passed more accurately than the opposition, moved into space at the appropriate time and we were balanced when moving the ball down the court. This was a good game in which to try people out in other positions. The girls rose to the challenge and demonstrated a good tactical understanding of the game whatever position they were playing. Alex moved from GK to GS; working excellently with Charlotte. This allowed Holly to practice her skills in defense. Romy shot well as the game progressed and Eliza quietly worked extremely hard (as she always does!). It is great to see the progress that Heidi and Holly have made since they joined the school last year. Jaya also played really well and it was good to have her playing as part of the A team. The opposition's coach commented at how talented she thought Kim, Charlotte and Ashleigh were. A much more positive afternoon! - Keep up the momentum girls.
Wednesday 10th February 2010 U13A Tournament @ Cranleigh (V Danes Hill 2-4, V Amesbury 4-9, V Hawthornes 1-5, Barrow Hills 4-5, V Feltonfleet 3-5, V Churchers 5-6) Player of the Tournament: Kim Although the girls generally battled very hard throughout this tournamnet, it was quite a frustrating afternoon. It was one of those days where in any fifty, fifty situation the luck just didn't go our way. Most of our matches were very competitive and close and the team displayed some excellent skills. Kim battled extremely hard in defense and was an excellent link when bringing the ball into our attacking end. Charlotte also showed excellent skills. However, our shooting in the circle wasn't always accurate enough, allowing a couple of teams to win by just one goal. Holly did a fantastic job when she came on as our reserve Goal-Keeper after Alex injured herself in the second game. Please don't lose heart girls. As a team you are developing - just have more faith in yourselves and determination to win. Saturday 23rd January U13A V Lord Wandsworth Won 10-9 (Quarters 4-2, 3-6, 1-1, 2-0) Player of the match: Ashleigh This was a really exciting end to end game. Our opposition were very quick and competitive but lacked balance and accuracy. This led to the game being quite physical! In the first quarter, Eagle House dominated because Lord Wandsworth's passes were wild. This meant that they repeatedly gave away possession. However, in the second quarter they came out like a different team - determined to take the lead. We responded by letting our play degenerate, passing too quickly and struggling to find space. On realising our faults at half time (!) we began to focus on playing our game and the strategy worked. It was an exciting and tense final few moments, but we held on and gained a well deserved victory. This was a real team effort. Holly and Kim were doggedly determined in defense. Asleigh had a fantastic game. Heidi and Eliza fought for space and fed the ball into the circle well, while Alex (playing GA for the first time) and Romy shot accurately. I was really proud of you today girls, well done! Wednesday 20th January U13B V St Mary's Ascot Won 8-5 Player of the match: How wonderful to be able to play a game after all the snow and in a beautiful sports hall too! Whether it was the surroundings or lack of exercise that inspired the team but they played with gusto and determination. From the onset the centre passes worked well, with a strong throw from Heidi. Holly showed good movement onto the ball but needed to watch out for footwork - a little something to work on. It was here that Eliza demonstrated good movement followed by an intelligent pass into the circle. Unfortunately the shooters found it difficult to convert the opportunities given to them into goals.The centre court tended to be too crowded but after discussion at half-time the girls remedied this when they returned to the court. Our defence really picked up the pace with all three girls, Alex,Ashleigh and Jaya making several wonderful interceptions and so reversing the flow of play. Darcy worked well in backing up the circle for Kitty and Romi who with some quick thinking and passing, got the ball closer to the net. With this very positive half the girls won the game. I would like to single out Jaya for her performance - her best one to date. Well done! Wednesday 9th December U13A V Highfield Lost 10-21 This was the best game of netball that I have seen the girls play. (Although they tell me that they think they played better last week when they won!) Highfield were a very organised team. They have been playing together for a couple of years and this showed. Their set plays were very good and they blocked marked our players out of space. However, I think that we showed better basic skills - passing accurately and being balanced with the ball. The first quarter went to Eagle House and despite missing quite a few shots we were in the lead 4-3 at quarter time. However, Highfield came out fighting in the next quarter and took the score to 11-5 to them at half time. Although the game remained end to end until the last whistle, the Eagle House girls lost confidence in their ability to make up the deficit and Highfield increased the gap. All the girls played well during period of the game but we really have to start believing in ourselves when we are behind. I am looking forward to more matches after Christmas and really developing as a team.
Wednesday 2nd December 2009 Eagle House v St Andrews, Pangbourne Won 23 - 8 Unfortunately I was unable to be at the game thanks, to Jane Grillo, from Wellington College, for umpiring. The girls had a fantastic match! As the sides were so unevenly matched we experimented with playing different positions. The team worked excellently together, Charlotte led her team skilfully and it was great to hear about their success.
U13 Netball Squad Under 12/13B Wednesday 4th November v Leighton Park Won 16 - 2 Player of the match: Kitty Allum & Amaya Enriquez Coach's player: Menna Braithwaite The rain did nothing to inspire this promising side with EH getting off to a pretty ropey start. The ball was fumbled and the passing inaccurate. We seemed to forget our positioning and frequently created a muddle in the centre third. This was the same for both teams, consequently the ball was intercepted many times at both ends. Despite this lackluster start, EH took advantage of LP's weak defense and managed to put on six goals. Kitty & Holly began to work well together in the circle with Holly gaining some very useful rebounds. LP came back fighting in the second quarter. They made a series of quick passes down the court but Menna and Eloise read the ball well and put up some great defense. Laura played well as WD, a new position for her. She opened up the court wide and got the ball safely away from our goal. Menna intercepted several balls heading into the circle. The rain really started to fall at the start of the third quarter so our hosts decided to make this the final one. Heidi had settled in well as centre linking the passes up the court, also providing the shooters with many opportunities to score. EH worked well as a team with several series of passes down the court, ending with a goal. Well done girls for persevering on such a cold and wet miserable afternoon. Delicious sausages, beans and chips though - thank you Leighton Park. Thank you also to all the mummys who braved the wet and cold to stand on the sideline.
Wednesday 14th October U13A V Hall Grove 1sts Lost 11-21 Woman of the match - Eliza Team: Charlotte (C), Kim, Alex, Ashleigh, Eliza, Heidi, Romy. This was a real roller-coaster of a game. It is our second match of the season, while Hall Grove have only been playing netball this term and have had far more match practice. However, we mustn't make excuses! The Eagle House team knew from the first whistle that they had to focus 100 percent and ensure that we got the basics right - hard, accurate passing, driving forward for the ball and clearing/holding space for the appropriate player to receive a pass. At times we got it right, and the score was 5-5 after the first quarter. However, as Hall Grove increased their lead after half time, we panicked and began to throw loopy balls, over heads which were intercepted all too easily. I feel that the final score belied the end to end nature of the game. We need to ensure that when the 'going gets tough' we keep our heads up and 'get going'! Wednesday 14th October U13B V Hall Grove 2nds Lost 7-12 Woman of the match - Menna The Eagle House girls played very well against generally older opposition. Their footwork was good and their passing accurate. Catherine had a positive game and worked well on court but it was unfortunate that some of her shots didn't drop in. Laura was unlucky to be against a stronger opponent who made life difficult for her. When Lucinda came on she worked tirelessly for her team. Amaya was nervous to start with but her confidence really grew as the game went on. Holly proved that she has the ability to both defend and attack but needs to work a little on her accuracy when shooting. Eloise's height was a real asset to the team but she needs to develop her confidence and attack the ball. Alys and Jaya worked hard in the centre of the court with Jaya, as captain, giving great encouragement to her team. Menna had a great game and was voted as woman of the match by the opposition. Well done, girls. A hard match against a more experienced and older team. Wednesday 7th October U13B V Yateley Manor U13A - Lost 4-11 Woman of the match - Heidi It was a shame that the weather prevented us from getting a full match in, but it was nice to be able to play indoors. We were up against a strong team as this was Yateley Manor's only senior team - some of whom play club and satellite netball. However, I was really impressed by the girl's positive and competitive attitude. On the whole Eagle House played a really good game of netball. It was a very fast, skilful and end to end game. Holly, Eloise and Menna played fantastically in defense, intercepting brilliantly at times. Heidi showed some great skills as Cenre and was able to feed the ball from attack to defense. Catherine, as Goal Attack, had her work cut out as for much of the game she was being block marked out of the circle. However, she used great footwork and scored some excellent goals. Laura, Lucinda, Lana and Amaya all played well as the game was so much faster than they had ever experienced. Well done, girls - although we lost you did yourselves proud. Wednesday 16th September U13A v The Dolphin - Won 24-2 Woman of the match - Charlotte A fantastic first game of the season. Our opposition were a little disorganised, which meant that we looked highly skillful in comparison! It did however give me the the chance to play everyone and to try people out in new positions. It was lovely to see Eagle House playing well as a team and supporting each other so positively. The most experienced players - Charlotte (captain), Kim, Ashleigh and Alex played very well, with Charlotte and Alex shooting well. Romy was also an accurate shot and helped to increase the score when on court as shooter. Heidi, Holly, Eliza Jaya and Alys worked hard in the centre of the court. We need to work on some set plays and on holding space before driving forward to the ball. I am very much looking forward to working with the girls and I am excited about the season ahead. Well done!
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