7 minute read
Girls’ Hockey
The girls luckily had no issues with disruption and their season ran untainted, fulfilling a whopping 179 fixtures with our 16 teams. 1st XI We lost a lot of players last season so as a result we had a large influx from our Lower Sixth, which led to a disjointed start to the season with the first match coming after just two training sessions. As expected, we did start slowly, in fact, in our first match at half time we were 5-0 down away at Gordon’s. We lost the match 6-0 with a vastly improved, more cohesive second half performance and some link up play and potential partnerships started to emerge. After the tough start we then thrashed PGS 7-1 and were gradually improving our phases of play. We played really well on hosting Wellington College albeit losing 3-1 and were unfortunate to go down 2-0 to Reeds in the National Plate competition in a really good game of hockey. By this point, some of the hockey we were playing was really progressive and morale was high as the girls knew how much they had developed through the season. The season closed with a dominant performance against Christ’s Hospital. We had the vast majority of possession and the midfield pulled the strings, passing Christ’s off the pitch. To keep a clean sheet and score two from penalty corners topped it off nicely. 2nd XI The 2nd XI squad enjoyed an excellent term, under the captaincy of Georgia Chapman. Competition for places in the team was high, with a large and enthusiastic squad, predominantly comprising of Lower Sixth players, all keen to train and play. The highlight of the term was qualifying for the England Hockey tier IV regional tournament, having qualified at the Hampshire Trophy tournament. At the regional final we held our own, which was a tough ask bearing in mind the majority of teams there were actually A Teams. On the pitch we worked incredibly hard and gradually developed our own brand of passing hockey based on a 3-4-3 formation.
U16s The U16 players were motivated and a pleasure to coach, with season highlights against Cranleigh: to quote Mr Jones, “it was like the Battle of the Alamo”! They gave Cranleigh a great game in monsoon conditions and even under immense pressure managed a draw. They received possibly the sternest test by drawing St George’s College in the Cup first round, as their record is enviable; however, this team put in a truly gutsy performance gave them a run for their money, much to their surprise, even if they did run out 3-0 victors. Against PGS in the plate, they won a really entertaining 4-2 match, lining up Wycombe High School next, where unfortunately the run ended, courtesy of a 2-1 defeat. Amy Dickens showed the most development over the season,
becoming a solid defender with an ability to read the play and make a strong low tackle whilst retaining her brilliant attacking ability. Liv Knowles was a fantastic engine in the midfield, her stamina and movement was brilliant and won her lots of plaudits. Alice Robinson showed great pace, skill and creativity up front and in the away fixture against LWC simply tore them apart, scoring a hattrick and providing an assist in a 5-2 victory. For the Bs, the season was one of considerable development, both collectively and individually, with every member of the team improving their playing credentials. The unquestioned highlight of the campaign was a tour de force performance away at Cranleigh, with a 0-2 victory being a very fair reflection of a game which for periods Churcher’s totally dominated. Such was the fluidity and guile of our play, that a watching parent described the hockey as sheer ‘poetry in motion’. A memorable season, in which the girls grew in confidence, and this was reflected in their excellent play. U15s These girls are impressive not only in the style of hockey they play, but in their unity and work rate. There have been moments this season of text book hockey, with high tempo, creative game play evident throughout. With the girls showing flair in all of their performances and most excitingly always having the confidence to try new things out on the pitch, and for some individuals having the adaptability to play anywhere on the pitch, creating the dream of ‘total hockey’ within the squad. A real highlight was the exemplary performance in a 2-0 win over a City of London Freemen’s with two well worked team goals and a clean sheet. Scoring outstanding team goals was a mainstay of the team this season, but equally was the work rate of the midfield and composed defensive performances; the whole squad deserves a mention. The Bs also had an incredible start to the season – unbeaten in the first four and only conceding one goal. What a season this could be... Unfortunately, the fairy tale was not to continue, in terms of results at least, as we then failed to win any of our next eight. However, the girls continued to enjoy their hockey with a number having the opportunity to play for the As. A highlight was edging out local rivals PGS 1-0 in an epic encounter and whilst we lost the goal fest 6-3, the match away against Wellington College saw us play some enjoyable, expansive hockey.
U14s Throughout this season they have had some excellent performances, and the Captain and Vice-Captain positions were highly sought after. So, at the end of each match, all the team voted for their man of the match and those players became Captain and Vice-Captain for the next match.
Rosie Porter deserves congratulations for receiving eight ‘Player of the Match’ titles. Also, goal keeper Molly Ashworth received three. They came up against some very strong teams, but the girls never gave up and continued to try and win the game right until the very end. An impressive 28 girls represented the B Team this season, playing with such enthusiasm and showing excellent commitment to the squad. There were some close games, however, our highlight was beating City of London Freemen’s 3-0. The girls played their best hockey in their last game against Lord Wandsworth College, which finished in a 2-2 draw but it saw them playing as a team and putting into place everything they had worked on all season.
U13s The Second Year girls displayed some exciting and skilled performances over the season. They focussed on playing as a team and less as individuals which proved to be a more positive strategy. For the As, unfortunately it wasn’t to be in the cup losing out to Prior’s Field where, frustratingly, we never really got out of second gear and then we lost in the plate to a strong Alleyn’s outfit in the plate. However, a real high was a 3-2 victory over local rivals KES, secured with a well worked penalty corner routine. The Bs got stronger and stronger as the season went on, winning their last six matches in a row. The Cs had a pleasing performance in the last game of the season against LWC which saw us edge them out in a five goal thriller! The D team didn’t draw a single match – they won three and lost three and had ended up with a positive goal
difference of plus one, including a trip over to the Isle of Wight where they beat Ryde Bs 4-0.
U12s A highly enjoyable and successful introduction to hockey for the First Year girls; it is a challenging task, going into their first round of fixtures having known their teammates for barely a week, and possibly never taken part in a competitive hockey fixture before. However, week one produced some sterling fixtures against Gordon’s School, with tight wins for the A and C sides, and very competitive draws for the B and D teams; from that moment on the girls were hooked and would spend the remainder of the season training exceptionally hard and fighting tooth and nail in every fixture regardless of the opposition. The nature of team sport is that there is always a bigger fish; in this case St. George’s Weybridge and St. John’s Leatherhead would prove to be our toughest opponents. However, week by week the challenge was to improve on last week’s performance, regardless of the result, and I think that the girls would all admit that, in that respect, they were all incredibly successful.
