Brentwoodian 2019

46 U14 A This season the U14 A team has undoubtedly been the strongest and most successful hockey team in the School! We have been undefeated all the way through qualification to the National finals, and just missed the top spot in the South East of England by a single goal! With a backbone of Molly Smith, our outstanding East of England goalkeeper, Isabela Copeland (Captain), Olivia Copeland and Hannah Knightbridge, it was no wonder we won all our games 4-0 and above! Most importantly the team has had fun and enjoyed every second of it especially having such an enthusiastic and supportive coach - Mr McCann, he has really helped. We have all improved over the season from our passing accuracy and our trust in each other! Eloise Squibb was awarded Most Improved Player and Olivia Copeland and I shared Player of the Season. On behalf of the whole team, we would like to thank Mr McCann for making all the cold and rainy training sessions fun and most importantly a laugh too! We have enjoyed every moment together, and can’t wait till next season! By Sophie Philpot U14 B U13 A The U13A hockey team experienced a very successful season, competing in many matches and tournaments. We had 11 matches overall, winning 6, drawing 2 and losing 3. We had great support from our defence and midfield consistently in each match. A few highlights of our season were when we played New Hall (5-1) Chigwell (6-1) and Bancroft’s (6-0). The match against Bancroft’s School was our first experience as a team playing 11-a-side against their U14A team. It was a fantastic experience early on in our season and we won 6-0. When we played New Hall, we won with a very pleasing 5-1 victory. One thing that we all remembered about playing New Hall is that they have a very bouncy, water-based pitch. This meant that we all had to adapt our games accordingly in order to get the best result for us. Due to our extremely strong line of attack consisting of Maddy Austin and Amelia Horton, who never seemed to disappoint with their goal shooting, we were able to counter attack and utilise every scoring opportunity to take the lead. We took a lot of positives from this game and it came in very handy when we entered the U13 Essex hockey tournament. We competed against schools in our pool but narrowly missed out on progressing to the semi-final but we had a successful day nonetheless, with excellent goals by Maddy Austin, Amelia Horton, Libby McLauchlan and Savannah Morrish throughout. Over the season, we have all bonded very well as a team, getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so that we can all improve our game moving forward into next season where we will be playing our first year of 11-a-side. The team can very easily adapt to the game and read it well, which is vital to success in a hockey match. Everybody on our team has an individual skill that makes them stand out and play a vital role within the team. Our Captain, Amelia Horton has a strong shot at goal, Libby McLauchlan, our Vice- Captain, has a fast ball pace, Daisy Ireson-Hughes leads a good attack on the wing, Maddy Austin has displayed brilliant drives down the baseline, Emma Dowlen has made some excellent tackles, Savannah Morrish has made some excellent quick and accurate passes, Ellie Foley has exceptional This year has been a truly successful year for the U14B team. Each player has gone from strength to strength, resulting in us becoming runners-up in the Essex Plate after a very close match against Fitzwimarc. We played nine games this season, winning five, drawing two and losing two. Special mention goes to our amazing goalkeeper Charlotte Davey, who saved many goals and played a huge part in our results. The team is a strong, huge squad of fantastic players, with Isobel Crichton, Sophia Stock, Isabelle Berry, Grace Dinning and Olivia Hiller as forwards and hogging the ball to score! In midfield, Olivia Argent, Isabelle Toms, Imogen Pohl, Sophia Brennan and Amelia Osman supported all the players and worked their legs off to keep us on the attack. Lastly, Daisy Shackleton, Rachel Hepburn-Braham, Sabrina Lee, Isabel Graver, Abigail Rice and Diya Dhesi in defence worked hard to mark their players and clear the ball. Each player adapted extremely well to eleven- a-side hockey. The most successful match was against Dartford Science and Technology College. We won this quarter-final match for the Essex Plate 5-0. It was successful, not only because of the five goals, but also because it resulted in the team progressing to the semi-finals. In this match our forwards worked hard to score goals, with vital assistance from the mid-fielders, and our defence were constantly on their toes. The teamwork displayed in this match was most impressive. I am so thankful to have captained this team and, on behalf of the team, I would like to thank Miss Fleming for being an amazing coach (even when she wasn’t there because of her injury!) Miss Fleming supported us and built up our confidence, inspiring us to play our hardest. Thanks also goes to Mrs Lazenby who stepped in for Miss Fleming during the time of her injury. Mrs Lazenby coached us and made hockey such an enjoyable sport. Without our coaches we wouldn’t have been as victorious. Thank you for an amazing season and all of us can’t wait for next season! By Théa Mathieson & Diya Dhesi