Plenty of lessons learnt on the sports pitches

U8/U9 Triangular tournament against RGS Springfield & RGS The Grange

Tuesday saw two mixed teams of U8 and U9s travel to RGS Springfield for a triangular tournament, with the other team being RGS The Grange. The sun was shining and both teams were excited to play some 4v4 netball. Playing with small numbers helps the girls to move around the court with pace and develop positional awareness. Mixing the two, year groups together, allowed experience from the U9s and exuberance from the U8s, equalling a formidable partnership.

Both teams demonstrated some excellent netball with players moving into space and performing super changes of direction, meaning the team were able to move the ball down court with ease. Jess K and Millie B along with Rosie H and Charlotte F showed lovely cross court passing and super interceptions.

The girls worked together brilliantly in the shooting area passing out to get closer to the post. In defence, both teams with a special mention to Florrie W, Zara O and Elizabeth N who were excellent at marking their players leading to interceptions and swift turnovers.

Both the U8s and U9s had a successful afternoon with their shooting and showed that hard work and practice pays off. Millie B, Charlotte F and Lyra H impressed with near enough a 100% shooting accuracy. Daisy E, Jasmine O, Indie B and Valerie M showed great versatility and determination on the court demonstrating some lovely netball. Mrs Beech and Miss Holtham were extremely pleased with how all the girls played. Player of the tournament was awarded to Millie B and Lyra H.

It was a lovely afternoon and their attitude, plus sportsmanship, was outstanding.

U11 Netball – King’s Hawford v Hallfield

The U11s made the journey over to Hallfield on an afternoon which saw a variety of weather conditions. It was lovely to be able to take all of the Year 6 girls and allow them to demonstrate the skills they have been working so hard on in club and lessons.

All the girls have shown improvement since the beginning of term, especially on their passing, pace of play and footwork. It was a perfect match opportunity to put all those practices into action. It was great to see both teams work well together, passing the ball through the court and scoring some sensational goals. Isla H-M, Rose G and Harriette T impressed Mrs Beech and Miss Holtham with their accurate shooting.

The games were both very competitive, but it was a chance to practice lots of different combinations of players and positions. The girls worked incredibly hard demonstrating their diverse skill set learnt this term. It was great to see them play in different positions and play really good, fast paced netball.

In attacking play, Issie F and Erin L produced some excellent split landings, gaining distance and both were able to play short sharp passes into the D.

The teams were really good at moving the ball into the attacking third with Blythe T, Michelle Z and Lottie H driving forwards and timing runs beautifully. Arya P was solid in defence with Poppy C connecting the attack and defence with a great selection of passes. noticeably all centre court players showed a good understanding of positional play and how much progress they have made.

With the netball season fast approaching its end, all the girls have developed further as King’s netball players, demonstrating the need to work more effectively as a team rather than an individual. Mrs Beech and Miss Holtham have been impressed by the commitment shown by all the girls in club and lessons and this is also being shown in matches.

Player of the match was awarded to Poppy C and Michelle Z.

U11 Warwick Rugby 7s

The under 11 boys travelled to Warwick Junior School for their annual 7 a side festival on Wednesday. The boys played some impressive 7s competing against some of the most prestigious rugby schools in the midlands and north of England. This was the first 7s event of the term and the boys will now look forward to travelling to Hymers College and The National Schools 7s at Rosslyn Park in the coming weeks.

U9 Boys Football Tournament at RGS The Grange

On Tuesday, a group of U9 boys travelled to RGS The Grange to compete in a football tournament alongside nine other schools. The boys endured a somewhat frustrating start to the event, losing their first two matches 1-0 despite continuing to stick to their playing style and philosophy and playing some nice passing football. The boys remained positive and their hard work and commitment paid off in the next two matches; their excellent quality shone through and they were able to score 7 goals across the two matches, with Finn MP keeping clean sheets in both. Amongst these goals was a well taken hattrick from Jude R. These two results secured our qualification from the group as one of the top four sides at the tournament and set up an eagerly anticipated semi-final against the hosts RGS The Grange. What ensued was a highly competitive match with both sets of boys working hard to try to gain the win that would take them in to the final. RGS took the advantage by going 1-0 up from a tidy finish following a low cross to the back post. The Hawford boys responded brilliantly and kept their heads up, redoubling their efforts. They soon managed to strike back with an equaliser from a super move that ended with a composed finish from Henry K. Both teams now pushed on in search of a potential winner and it took an outstanding strike from RGS to separate the two teams, just minutes from the final whistle. The Hawford boys were so proud of their performances across the afternoon as well as the clear progress that they have made since the start of the football term. We were especially impressed by the consistently high levels of performance from Oliver G who was named as player of the tournament.

Meanwhile, another group of U9 boys played host to teams from RGS The Grange, Warwick and Blue Coat in what turned in to a challenging and character-building afternoon. The boys had enjoyed a very fruitful term so far with lots of one-sided and highly impressive results. However, with key players missing from the side due to injury, this Tuesday proved to be a much tougher proposition. It was great to see boys stepping up and taking more responsibility whilst digging in and developing their resilience despite finding themselves against strong opposition. We were extremely impressed with Elliot C’s attitude and application which resulted in him being named as player of the festival.

U10 Boys Football vs Winterfold & RGS Springfield

On Wednesday afternoon our U10 boys played hosts to teams from both WInterfold and RGS Springfield. It was a highly entertaining afternoon and it was great to see the boys from all three teams working hard to develop their footballing skills and understanding within matches. The Hawford boys played especially well and produced dominant performances in all of their matches, showing excellent commitment and positional awareness in defence as well as an enthusiasm to score goals when in possession. The Hawford boys are also continuing to develop their passing and decision making when in possession of the ball. We were extremely impressed by the form of Sammy M who was an absolutely rock in defence throughout the afternoon winning every ball and reading the game really well. Harry C and William N also produced solid performances.