A sportingly good term!

As has become the tradition at King’s Hawford, the Prep School gathered together on the last day of term to celebrate the term’s successes on the sports fields and wow, what a lot we had to celebrate this term!

Mr Hodgkins, Director of Sport at King’s Hawford congratulated all of the children from Year Three through to Year Six on some impressive results throughout the term, despite the inclement weather conditions at times. Special mention went to the Year Three girls and boys, who have conquered competitive netball and football respectively; he also congratulated Years Four, Five and Six for their continued progress, building upon their competitive experience from last year.

Moving on to individual awards, Mrs Beech, who has been coaching the Year Three girls’ netball this season, started proceedings by awarding not one but two Most Improved Player of the Season awards.

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 3): Fearne B

“In the first few weeks of the netball term, this young lady did not find this an easy sport to play, but her determination to work hard and develop her skills has not gone unnoticed. She is working incredibly hard at moving into space, losing her defender, and understanding the rules of the game. At Hawford we talk a lot about resilience and this young netballer shows this every time she takes to the court. Although the season has now finished, I hope she carries on practicing her shooting at home, and becomes increasingly confident in her netball abilities.”

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 3): Sophia R

” At the start of Year Three in Games, this young lady found hockey a struggle but she tried ever so hard to improve. That’s ok, because I knew she would love netball and I was right! This young netballer listens, works hard, and is continually practicing her skills at break and lunchtime. She has a delightful personality and is always polite and welcoming to visiting netballers. On court she is developing into a natural defensive player, making several crucial intercepts in every game played.”

Netball: Player of the Season (Year 3): Persie D

“There are always individuals who stand out at the start of a season, and this young lady is one of them. Beneath the calm, quiet persona is a competitive, determined and assertive games player. This young netballer is eager to learn, performing superbly across all areas of netball, and is a super player. She is a pleasure to coach and can naturally perform in an attacking or defensive position, often outwitting her opponents. She has a tireless work rate,  giving her all in every fixture, and is regularly chosen as Player of the Match. I hope she continues to work hard at developing her skills over the summer and I’m excited at the prospect of coaching and working with her in Year Four.”

Football: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 3): Isaac H

“This player has a great ability to learn during training sessions, developing skills which have clearly transferred onto the pitch during fixtures. A solid defender, this player is beginning to put together some excellent passing play with his teammates.”

Football: Player of the Season (Year 3): Josh R

“This young footballer has shown excellent skills throughout the term, both in training and match play. In his play he has demonstrated some excellent ball control, skipping past defenders with ease. This player also scored some critical goals in a number of fixtures.”

Year Four girls have had a fantastic season with the introduction of Bee Netball positions and rotations. They have all shown huge progress since the start of the season and it will be exciting to see what this group of girls go on to achieve next season. This term we have two girls for Most Improved Players, as we thought that they both deserved to be recognised.

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 4): Bella P

“This girl has really impressed all of the Games Staff this term. I think it would be fair to say that she sometimes finds games lessons quite difficult, but her attitude this term has been great. She has shown fantastic improvement over the last 10 weeks in regards to her netball skills. On the court, she has begun to find space, she is using her voice to call for the ball, and has shown a good understanding of the different positions. Her shooting has developed nicely and it has been great to see her practicing during breaktimes on occasions. This girl has also demonstrated some good leadership skills, and I’m excited to see how she uses these, both next term in cricket and also as she moves into Year Five.”

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 4): Zara O

“A girl who always gives 100% effort in Games practice and in fixtures. She has shown huge progress this season, finishing with a fantastic performance against RGS The Grange in our final tournament, demonstrating strength in both attack and defence.”

Netball: Player of the Season (Year 4): Charlotte

“The girl we have chosen for the Player of the Season is a wonderful netballer with an excellent understanding of the game. She offers something special in every position on the court, is a consistent shooter, but most importantly she is coachable, always willing to try new tactics and listen to coaching advice. She has captained the team brilliantly on a number of occasions this season.”

Football: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 4): Freddie

“The standout most improved footballer in Year Four this term, he has played in a variety of positions, and has approached his lessons with outstanding levels of enthusiasm and a keen motivation to develop his skills and game awareness. He is now making excellent tackles in defence and shows composure on the ball when passing to set the team off on the attack. His decision making when in possession has been outstanding.

Football: Player of the Season (Year 4): Charles H

“This player has demonstrated excellent skills throughout the football term. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet and has developed his ability to use both feet. He is an athletic boy, who has used his speed and agility to dribble past opponents consistently, and has been a real threat on the counter-attack. He has shown composure in front of goal and has scored several goals in weekly fixtures and festivals.” 

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 5): Sophie

“This young lady is always keen to improve and displays every quality you could hope to find in a netball player. Her shooting accuracy is extremely impressive and she equally displays excellent defensive plays. On court she has shown she has the ability to have an impact in all the rotations, which is so important in the modern game of Bee Netball. I hope her new-found confidence for netball continues in Year Six and she continues to work hard and develop her leadership qualities and game play.”

Netball: Player of the Season (Year 5): Marnie

“This Year Five netballer is a stand out member of the Year Five Netball Squad. Week in, week out she is a pleasure to coach. Her commitment to netball is exceptional, always playing with total dedication, and she is proud to wear the King’s kit.  She reliable, accurate in her shooting, and helps to control and lead centre-court play. She has made some very important contributions in some extremely big games, especially playing above her age group at the IAPS Netball  Competition at Millfield, highlighting not only her skills but her willingness to be involved in everything. She has worked incredibly hard all netball season and I’m excited to coach and work with her is Year Six.”

Netball: Player of the Season (Year 5): Millie

“But I couldn’t stop at one player of the season. This young lady bring positivity, energy, and a great sense of humour to every netball session. She looks out for her teammates and was pivotal in the IAPS Tournament at Millfield, again playing above her age group. Week in, week out, she is a pleasure to coach. Her explosive pace on court and her accurate shooting has helped develop her all-round game and create a fantastic atmosphere in the Year Five and Year Six Squads. Most noticeably, the improvements in her game this year have been her turn of speed and her ability to intercept and pass with confidence. She constantly shows skill and determination on court and I’m excited for netball in Year Six, where I can already see her infectious spirit and undeniably competitive nature will help define her, both as a person and a netball player.”

Football: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 5): Josiah

“The first to admit it himself, this player does not profess to be a natural footballer, but has worked extremely hard to improve his game play. Determined to play his part in the team, he is defensively sound and is also becoming more of a individual player.”

Football: Player of the Season (Year 5): Jude

“This player demonstrates all-round football talent, with his speed a definite asset. His ability to ghost pass defenders has ensured that he has scored a number of great goals in matches this term. It has been great to see him make a number of assists, thereby bringing his teammates into the game.”

The Year Six girls have come to the end of their last ever netball season at King’s Hawford, playing some great netball and coming away with tremendous results. One of the highlights was a gritty performance away at Blue Coat, where the girls played their best netball of the season.

Netball: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 6): Ava

“This girl is a bundle of energy and is an absolute delight to teach. She has come into this term with great enthusiasm and has really impressed the Games Staff with her technique and skills. She has demonstrated leadership qualities and can use her (sometimes very loud) voice to instruct teammates and keep up morale in moments where the team are losing. With good focus on the game, she can time it well to pull off fantastic interceptions and never lacks energy when on the court, providing plenty of laughs to both her teammates and us as staff.”

Netball: Player of the Season (Year 6): Hattie

“She is a young lady who has made a significant contribution to her team and to every position and area of the court. She shows real athleticism in game play and an excellent understanding of what is needed, whether it be marking at Centre, putting shots away as a shooter or intercepting in defence. She has been a fantastic addition to strengthen a great Year Six Squad further this season.”

Football: Most Improved Player of the Season (Year 6): Archie

“This player has worked really hard throughout the football term. He loves the sport and has developed his game awareness and footballing intelligence in Games sessions as well as weekly fixtures. His decision making in possession and improved techniques have enabled him to register assists and goals whilst playing in both Mr Cook’s and Mr Hodgkins’s team. Whilst he remains relatively quiet on the pitch, he has been extremely coachable this term and should be proud of the excellent progress that he has made.”

Football: Player of the Season (Year 6): Will

“This player has been the driving force of Year Six football throughout this term. In matches, he has developed his leadership skills and set the tone for the rest of the boys with his impressive performances. He has been a combative, box-to-box midfielder, who regularly wins back possession and drives the team forward. He has worked hard to refine his decision-making skills in the final third and has been a constant threat around the opponents’ box; he has scored several impressive goals through his powerful and accurate shooting skills.”