Hockey: Review for 2004-05
It was a short but action-packed hockey season, with the majority of matches being played in the glorious autumn weather. The second half of the Lent Term was atrocious weather-wise and the snow led to the cancellation of important matches. Summer training meant that our A teams were ready for action straight away in September, and their confidence was high.
Nicola Boulter had an outstanding season with the U11A team and seemed quite at home between the posts. Lucy Spence and Charlotte Hollingsworth played superbly in defence, ably supported by Jessica Hawkes and Emily Wilkes who shared the remaining defending position. In attack, Isabel McNab, Olivia Rendall and Lucy Tomkins finally gelled together as a unit and Charlotte Miles often played in the squad. The U11B team was not quite as settled as the As because lots of girls were offered the opportunity to play. They worked hard for each other and played some great hockey on occasions. Charlotte Simmonds was top scorer with two goals.
The U10 teams scored 17 goals in seven matches and learned a great deal about tactics and strategies. The players needed to be versatile as not many of them settled naturally into definite roles. This could be seen as a strength for the coming year as most of the players can defend as well as attack, however, it has been quite frustrating for their coach trying to create a winning combination! Player analysis is ongoing in matches and I am grateful for the girls' good nature in accepting different roles and systems without question. Olivia Harbig emerged as the 'player to watch' as she was dynamic in all matches, displaying a great hit either out of defence or in front of goal.
The U9A team in their debut match beat a good local side showing their ability to put newly acquired skills into a match situation. The nice thing about this young team was their vision on the pitch, which allowed them to find their team mates who understood the importance of supporting the player with the ball by finding space.
The Inter-House hockey tournaments were keenly fought, and every girl in Year Four played in the junior event. Each house fielded complete teams who had the ability to play their clearly defined roles with confidence and skill in many cases. The standard of play was very high this year, and it was rewarding to see how far the players had come in just two years of playing on the astroturf pitch.
Full Colours: N Boulter, C Hollingsworth, I McNab, O Rendall, L Spence, L Tomkins
Half Colours: O Harbig, J Hawkes, C Miles, E Wilkes
Nicola Boulter had an outstanding season with the U11A team and seemed quite at home between the posts. Lucy Spence and Charlotte Hollingsworth played superbly in defence, ably supported by Jessica Hawkes and Emily Wilkes who shared the remaining defending position. In attack, Isabel McNab, Olivia Rendall and Lucy Tomkins finally gelled together as a unit and Charlotte Miles often played in the squad. The U11B team was not quite as settled as the As because lots of girls were offered the opportunity to play. They worked hard for each other and played some great hockey on occasions. Charlotte Simmonds was top scorer with two goals.
The U10 teams scored 17 goals in seven matches and learned a great deal about tactics and strategies. The players needed to be versatile as not many of them settled naturally into definite roles. This could be seen as a strength for the coming year as most of the players can defend as well as attack, however, it has been quite frustrating for their coach trying to create a winning combination! Player analysis is ongoing in matches and I am grateful for the girls' good nature in accepting different roles and systems without question. Olivia Harbig emerged as the 'player to watch' as she was dynamic in all matches, displaying a great hit either out of defence or in front of goal.
The U9A team in their debut match beat a good local side showing their ability to put newly acquired skills into a match situation. The nice thing about this young team was their vision on the pitch, which allowed them to find their team mates who understood the importance of supporting the player with the ball by finding space.
The Inter-House hockey tournaments were keenly fought, and every girl in Year Four played in the junior event. Each house fielded complete teams who had the ability to play their clearly defined roles with confidence and skill in many cases. The standard of play was very high this year, and it was rewarding to see how far the players had come in just two years of playing on the astroturf pitch.
Full Colours: N Boulter, C Hollingsworth, I McNab, O Rendall, L Spence, L Tomkins
Half Colours: O Harbig, J Hawkes, C Miles, E Wilkes
Other Seasons: Current Season | Hockey: Review for 2006-07 | Hockey: Review for 2005-06 | Hockey: Review for 2003-04 | Hockey: Review for 2002-03
