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King's St Alban's
2 February
Sport for all at KSA
Tuesday 30th January
U8 v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Home)
The U8s welcomed King’s Hawford and Winterfold to the King’s Cinderella Ground in the St John’s district of Worcester on Tuesday afternoon and, as always, the boys were buzzing with excitement in the minibus on the way to the fixtures. Both games that the boys played were competitive; Max had two good games in goal and showed great development throughout: he worked hard at coming off his line to close down the angle for the oppositions striker. Bertie and George played well at the back, battling and working hard to make some important tackles and get the ball out of our half. Matthew worked as hard as ever and put in a real shift: he was all over the pitch, winning the ball back for his team and driving into space to gain ground. Jeremiah’s ball control was impressive and, on a number of occasions, he turned with the ball very well. Daniel and Rudy worked hard and moved very well around the pitch, making good tackles and passing to their team mates. In the final team talk the boys received a few points to work on in next weeks games lesson: to keep their shape, look to pass or dribble into space, and to believe in their ability more. The team have demonstrated good progress so far this term, well done.
U9 v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Away)
On Tuesday the U9s continued their football development with a triangular fixture against Winterfold and King’s Hawford. We started against Winterfold, and began to put some of the experience from previous weeks into action. Our structure was good, with the players sticking to their designated roles. We lost the game 1-0 but it was a very balanced game, and Thea impressed with some strong tackling and Ben with some strong running. The game against Hawford was a similar affair, with two evenly matched teams. We had a couple of chances on goal and Henry made some good saves at our end, with the game ending on a creditable 0-0 draw. Overall, some good football was played and more lessons were learned.
Wednesday 31st January
U10A v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Home)
Wednesday afternoon saw fifteen boys from Year Five take the short journey by minibus to The King’s School’s Cinderella Ground to play two football matches against teams from King’s Hawford and Winterfold.
After a team warm-up, the boys were keen to put their football skills into practice against a couple of very good teams. After conceding two early goals against Winterfold, the boys all worked well as a team to keep Winterfold out of our penalty area and prevent them from scoring again in the match. There was strong running with the ball from captain Will and Luca, whilst Ben, Louie and Uriah were all solid in defence. Harry impressed in goal, making some great saves, whilst Archie and Arlo also worked hard to win the ball and get it up field. After a good display in their opening match, the boys knew they would have to tackle hard and make the most of every chance against their counterparts from King’s Hawford. Everybody played well and tried their best and, despite conceding a few goals, the boys put in a valiant performance, remained positive and demonstrated good teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the afternoon.
The matches proved a great opportunity for the boys to play together in match conditions against good opposition, whilst also highlighting a few areas to develop further in future matches.
Well done to all the Year Five boys from both teams who took part in the matches and represented St Alban’s so well, and thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who came along to support the boys!
U10B v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Home)
The U10s competed in two fiercely contested matches against Winterfold and Hawford. The boys made progress throughout the day, which was the most pleasing part, learning a lot of key skills which will help them kick on for the next few games! They need to continue to work on keeping their shape and getting the ball to players in space.
U11A v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Away)
The U11A team certainly haven’t failed to impress so far this year. Not only are they picking up good results, they are also playing fabulous football to achieve this. In the first game against King’s Hawford, we kept the ball very well and played some lovely passing moves around the pitch. A brilliant strike from Henry R put the KSA team one up. The goal of the day followed from Monty E: the ball came out to the edge of the box, where Monty hit a clean half-volley to the slam the ball into the top corner of the net. The boys continued to play really attractive passing football and, in the next game against Winterfold, we started strong and took the lead through Monty and Reuben, only to be pegged back in the final moment, so the game finished in a draw. A special mention has to go to Theo S: he was absolutely brilliant in goal, making a number of fantastic saves to keep KSA in the game. These were two impressive performances and it is always great to see the things worked on in Games and Club being implemented into match play.
U11B v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Away)
The U11 Boys’ B team took on our friends at King’s Hawford away on Wednesday in a close encounter and, despite ending in a goalless draw, there was a huge amount of skill and passion on display from both teams. In the first half KSA put Hawford under relentless pressure, with Otto E and Joshua R both making spirited runs deep into the opposition’s half. At the other end of the pitch, credit goes to both Arslan S and Harry S, who each played a half in goal, with both making last-ditch saves to keep a clean sheet. A particular mention too goes to Jonas H, who showed particular calm and composure at all times. Overall, this was a fantastic performance from the whole team, well done.
U11C v King’s Hawford and Winterfold (Away)
All the children displayed excellent teamwork, showing a positive attitude in both matches, and were a credit to KSA. Wilf pulled off some brilliant saves and proved to be a steady pair of hands in goal, while Jacob was busy in midfield with some vital interceptions. Jack was unlucky not to score, having several shots saved. Well done, all!
Tuesday
U8 and U9 Foundation Netball Tournament with King’s Hawford
The girls had a wonderful afternoon playing with their peers from Hawford. In the U8s they followed the 4 a side game from England netball and played across a third of a court. The movement up and down the court was excellent as was the marking of both the player and the ball. It was noted that the shooting was particularly good from both schools which bodes well for the future. The U9s played their 5 a side game on the whole court and rotated every quarter as per England netball guidelines. We are finding this is an excellent way to develop a player and by the end of the afternoon the girls had experienced most positions. It was a lovely afternoon filled with lots of netball and happy faces.
Wednesday
U10 and U11 Foundation Netball Tournament with King’s Hawford
The afternoon was a similar format as the U8 and U9s but we had 3 courts with girls mixed according to ability. This worked well all round and again we rotated according to England Bee netball positions. This was in preparation for our IAPS competition. It was excellent playing with different players, seeing how they worked and moved and they all learnt a lot about the rules and how to move through court. The rotations were quick which meant there were only short rest periods, mimicking the style of a tournament. They all enjoyed their cookies on the side lines near the end and all were smiling on the way home, well done!
Thursday
U11 IAPS Netball Tournament at Uppingham
It was an early start for our girls on Thursday as they headed off to Uppingham for the annual U11 IAPS netball tournament. It is a notoriously tough tournament as there are many, much larger schools partaking but it really benefits these girls from playing against some of these schools. They had some tough morning games but managed to score some excellent goals and took some great interceptions. Lunch was a good chance to catch up with each other and come up with a plan of attack for the afternoon. For the afternoon session we were placed into the Bowl competition. There followed two very thrilling matches. The first match was end to end and by half time the score was 3-3. After a rotation, they had some good shooters on who didn’t miss and we lost 3-6. However, this gave them such a buzz. They went into their final match with such positivity. Again, this game was end to end with some excellent interceptions by our defenders and we were soon 3-0 up. The game was one of two halves, unfortunately for us. We struggled to keep possession of the ball often intercepting but throwing back to the opposition and soon they were leading 4-6. We did however, manage to sneak 1 back so we only lost by only 1 goal. It was the most thrilling match of the day and the improvement in that match was clear to see. Well done to Ellie, Evie, Lottie F, Jessica, Lily E, Lily G, Millie, Helena and Laura not only did you play your heart out, you were so well behaved and great company. We’re looking forward to starting the 7 a side game with you on Monday. Well done girls it was a superb day.
