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King's St Alban's
15 March
Sports Roundup Spring Term Week Nine
U8 v RGS The Grange
What a fun-filled afternoon of netball this was! All of the girls played at RGS and had a full afternoon of games; we combined some of our girls to make sure nobody had to stand off the court at any point. It’s great to see how their skills are progressing and how they are moving around the court. Julietta’s shooting was particularly impressive, along with Maddie’s defensive skills, intercepting passes on a number of occasions. The girls loved finishing off the afternoon with a game of “Golden Child”.
U9 A and B Netball v RGS The Grange
A super afternoon of netball was enjoyed by the U9s on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we had two girls away, so we borrowed a couple of players from RGS to fill the teams. The A Team match was very exciting, as the ball went end to end, with goals scored by both sides. We are now learning to throw the ball from above our heads and to drive towards the ball, and this was certainly evident on Tuesday. It was a super match, as we hadn’t managed to play each other in last week’s tournament, so they were new opponents to us. The A Team match ended with a score of four-all and Opposition Player of the Match was awarded to a very happy Hannah! The B Team had a similarly good game, albeit with extra RGS players to fill our team; our girls tried their very best, losing narrowly at the final whistle. Well done to Greta, who was named Opposition Player of the Match.
U10 v RGS The Grange
The Year Five A Team had humdinger of a match! Our girls played their socks off and their determined attitude and drive throughout the game were very impressive. After the first quarter we were 3-2 up, at half time it was 3-3; they then went up 4-3 in the third quarter. We went into the final quarter 4-4, but lost our composure a little, panicked, and lost 9-6 in the end. The girls worked so hard and should be very pleased with their performance. Zara was named as Player of the Match, which was so well deserved for her effort on court, sticking so tightly to her player when marking; her movement on court to get free was also excellent.
The Year Five B Team also had a excellent afternoon of netball. They all worked hard, and Ivy in particular demonstrated some excellent marking skills, staying tight to her player and keeping her out of the game. Rosie worked the circle well when playing at GS, moving across the back line to create space and receive the ball. We lost 6-1, but our goal came through an excellent shot from Izzy. Well done to Tilly for being awarded Player of the Match, which was very well deserved, as she moved so well around the court and read the ball well to make some good interceptions.
U11 A, B and C Netball v RGS The Grange
It was a super afternoon of netball over at RGS The Grange on Wednesday, albeit in weather that was a bit blowy, which means we have to be extra careful when shooting and throwing high balls. Every girl in Year Six was chosen to play in this match and we all played on their astro, which is tricky at times as it’s not quite like playing on a hard surface. However, it does mean if you fall, you can bounce straight back up, which is what a couple of girls did: all credit to them for carrying on. All three teams played four quarters and, while there was no requirement to rotate as we played 7-a-side, we did make the odd few changes. Although we didn’t win our games, our ability was matched well, and they were excellent matches nevertheless.
U11 D v RGS The Grange
The U11 team of Alice, Charlotte, Eliza, Martha and Suzie had a friendly but closely contested game. It was Eliza’s first game playing for KSA, and she really impressed with her positive attitude and hard work. Suzie and Alice worked particularly well together at GS and GA, scoring several goals. After a gentle reminder to be a bit feistier, KSA began to mark more tightly and compete for rebounds. At the start of the final quarter, KSA were just in the lead but RGS scored a couple of late goals to bring the final score to 5-4. The Opposition Player of the Match was awarded to Alice, who worked tirelessly throughout. Well done to all the girls for a fantastic effort.
King’s High School Warwick Preparatory School
Saturday 9th March: U11 Netball Tournament
The weather was set fair on Saturday for the Warwick Prep Schools’ Netball Tournament. We entered this jointly with King’s Hawford and, while last year it was a 7-a-side competition, this year it was played as a 5-a-side tournament to fit in with England Netball’s change to Bee Netball. This means all schools are required to rotate positions after every quarter; however, as we played eight minutes one way, we did this after each game.
Our first match against Warwick Prep School was a tough one, as insider information led us to believe they hadn’t lost a match all season. They were a strong school, and it was clear they were a well-drilled side with some height. We fought hard against them but ultimately lost 8-0.
Onwards and upwards to play our second match against Winchester House, once again, not a team we usually play; they too were strong, but we managed to keep them to only a four-goal lead.
After this our heads were down; this coincided with our Foundation Director of Sport popping over to our court from the U10s. He gave the girls a pep talk and it clearly worked, as we won the next three matches: 8-1 against Stamford, 8-4 against Solihull and 3-1 against Bablake. These three schools are notoriously bigger and stronger and it was so impressive to see the girls play as they did to beat them What a turnaround! This meant we were third in group and through to the Plate semi-final. Our rotations continued and we were drawn against The Blue Coat School. Unfortunately, we didn’t win this match; they had an extremely tall goal-shooter, to whom they just passed over our heads. It was a shame to end our tournament this way, but the girls should be very proud of their fourth place in the Plate. We have high hopes for this joint team when they head off to “Big King’s” for Year Seven. Well done to Harriet B, Hattie D, Jetta P, Lily G, Lottie F, Ellie B and Laura D for their excellent contribution to the team, and for showing resilience when things were tough.
Tuesday 12th March
U8 Football v Winterfold
The Year 3 boys were very excited about playing their last football match of the term against Winterfold School on Tuesday 12th March. The team have played some really strong Year 3 teams from other schools this term, and although the boys have made steady progress with their football, they haven’t had a lot of success in terms of wins and goals scored. Therefore, they were determined to end the term on a high and were all desperate to score a goal or two and finish with a win.
There had been a hint of what was to come the week before, in the match against The Downs, where the Year 3 boys who played in that game all played really well.
After a quick team warm up, the boys were raring to go on a very big pitch, with equally big goals, on Winterfold’s astro-turf. Straight from the off, the boys showed their intent, with some great teamwork from Matthew, Jeremiah and Dylan, in winning the ball, dribbling and passing the ball up the pitch towards the opposition’s goal. After being awarded a penalty, Jeremiah stepped up and coolly chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to score our first goal and put King’s St. Alban’s in the lead…much to the delight of the onlooking coaches, parents and other spectators!
Having taken the lead, the boys didn’t look back from then on. Jeremiah continued to be a threat in attack, and soon scored another well taken goal in open play to leave him with a brace of goals from the match. With the score at 2-0 and with the boys playing some great football together, the coaches decided to substitute a couple of the boys to give them a short rest, in order to try and balance the level of play somewhat. This resulted in Winterfold scoring a goal of their own to leave the match finely poised at 2-1 at half time. After a quick motivational team talk at half time, the boys were determined not to let their lead slip and to build on their lead. With Max, Daniel and Rudy playing in defence and all doing their job of preventing Winterfold from passing the ball around in our half, this allowed Matthew to take his chance and get on the scoresheet too. A quick rotation of goalkeeper meant that Bertie could play outfield, which he did well. Daniel continued to show an improved awareness of positioning when he went into goal and closed the space in the goal down effectively, when Winterfold attacked. Some strong defence from the whole team then enabled the boys to counter-attack; Dylan dribbled the ball on a long run, which resulted in him scoring a fine goal at the other end of the pitch. This was an epic match, which ended 4-3 to King’s St. Alban’s – a brilliant result for all of the boys and a great way to round their football term off! It was also a very enjoyable, pleasing and rewarding afternoon, not just for the boys, but also for the coaches and parents who had been lucky enough to be able to watch this match! A massive ‘Well done’ to all of the boys who played, and as always, a big ‘Thank you’ to all of the parents who have come along to support the team, not just on Tuesday, but all this term too – your support is always very much appreciated.
U9 Football v Winterfold CA
The U9 football team travelled over to a blustery Winterfold on Tuesday afternoon. Due to the horrendous weather, the decision was made to play on the astro, which had good underfoot conditions and let the ball run freely. At first, the players struggled a little to keep control of the ball on the fast surface, but they worked really tirelessly in defence and Winterfold were made to work really hard for a couple of very well taken goals. By the second half, we got more used to the surface and were able to put some nice passages of play together. The team were rewarded by a well struck shot by Zack, resulting in a good team goal.
Wednesday 13th March
U10A Football v RGS The Grange
A similar squad to the team that played Winterfold School and King’s Hawford the previous week took to the pitch on Wednesday (13th) afternoon to play two football matches against R.G.S. The Grange and Winterfold School.
After a narrow 2-0 loss to Winterfold the week before, the boys were keen to improve on that result. Everybody in the team gave 100% effort to keep a strong Winterfold team at bay, with Archie, Will and Arlo all working hard in midfield to get back and help Ben, Luca and new addition to the team, Louie, in defence. Harry D played well again in goal and did a good job of helping to distribute the ball up the pitch to Uriah in attack. It was a well contested match, which looked like it was going to end in a 0-0 draw. However, in the last five minutes of the match, Winterfold benefitted from an accidental handball by one of their players on the edge of our goal area, who then went on to score. Despite the obvious injustice, the boys showed great respect and resilience to shrug this off and went searching for an equaliser, which nearly came in the last minute. This meant the match finished 1-0 to Winterfold. Undeterred by the result, the boys were all eager to put in another good performance against R.G.S The Grange. They put in a valiant effort against another very good footballing team and Harry pulled off some more good saves to prevent R.G.S. The Grange from scoring. However, a loose ball in the box finally allowed an unmarked R.G.S. player to score, before they added another soon after. The team demonstrated great determination and perseverance again and did their best to get the ball to Uriah. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get the ball in the opposition’s goal on this occasion, so the match finished with a respectable loss to R.G.S. The Grange.
I was really impressed with the whole team’s effort and teamwork all afternoon, and was proud of the way they all represented St. Alban’s. So well done to all of the boys who played, and thank you very much to all of the parents and grandparents who came along to support the boys.
U10B Football v RGS The Grange
A strong and spirited performance by the U10B boys who are improving every week. They came up against a strong RGS side, who were clinical in their game plan. Albert M-H played well in goal and made a number of good saves to keep the ball out of the King’s St Alban’s goal! George C and Crispin N were solid in defence and made a lot of tackles to win the ball back for the team. Harry, Jake and Freddy were good on the ball and showed good dribbling skills to get the ball up and into the RGS half. Well done.
U11A Football v RGS The Grange
The U11A boys played in a highly competitive fixture against RGS The Grange on Wednesday afternoon. Firstly, I want to say how proud I am of the boys that represented King’s St Alban’s on Wednesday, the standard of football was phenomenal. All of the hard work we have put in during games and clubs over this term was evident. Theo made a number of good saves in goal and his distribution was good. Ethan and Tom were solid and helped the team play football from the back. Francis was absolutely everywhere on the pitch, making last ditch tackles and really putting his body on the line for the team. Henry and Rook were both brilliant in the middle, orchestrating and controlling the game for the team. Monty and Sam both played down the wings and beat their opponents a number of times, once they had beaten their man, they delivered dangerous balls into the box. Sam T also scored a fantastic goal from 20 yards out, the strike was magnificent and nestled into the left hand corner to put KSA level! Reuben keeps improving every week, he is starting to make the striker position his own. He makes intelligent runs behind the defence and also is used to link the midfield through attacking phases. Reuben scored a good goal for KSA on Wednesday, finishing off an impressive move from the team. It was a complete display from the King’s St Alban’s U11A football team and the boys should be proud of the way they played.
U11B Football v RGS The Grange
The U11B Boys’ Football Team faced RGS in a competitive and evenly matched game on Wednesday afternoon at RGS The Grange. The boys began the match with a spirited display, keeping the ball well, and were unlucky to find themselves 1-0 down at the half–time interval. The KSA boys came out for the second half with renewed energy, dominating possession, and created several goal-scoring chances, only being denied by a catalogue of excellent saves by the RGS ’keeper. Against the run of play, RGS broke away to double their lead before Jonas pulled one back for KSA with a neat finish. The King’s boys continued to dominate the ball, pummeling the RGS goal with countless chances, doing everything but score. The game finished 2-1 to RGS with the boys unlucky to lose, but they should be proud of their committed display and “never-give-up” approach.
U11C Football v RGS The Grange
In an exciting under 11s game, the C team showcased determination and teamwork. In a well-contested first half, the boys took control of the midfield and created numerous scoring opportunities. The team’s successful display was built on solid defending from Isaac, Jack, Jasper and Humphrey, all showing excellent positional awareness and maximum effort. Shortly after the break, the team took a commanding lead with some slick play through the midfield from Arslan, George and Jacob. Despite the best efforts of the opponents, the defence remained impenetrable, with Wilf denying any chance of a comeback through solid goalkeeping. Overall, a very well-deserved victory!