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King's St Alban's
28 September
Sports Round Up: Weeks 3 & 4
Week 3 Sports Reports:
U8&U9 Hockey v Winterfold House School:
On Tuesday, we took all our Year Three and Year Four girls over to Winterfold House for their first hockey match of the season. The Year Three girls were a little nervous, as it was their first ever school hockey fixture, but the excitement mounted on the ‘bus trip over, with some singing along the way.
We had four teams in total, who all played four 10-minute quarters. This worked well, as it allowed the staff to move round and see all the girls, coaching them as the afternoon went on. They should all be very pleased with their performances throughout the afternoon and we can definitely see some strong hockey players for the future. The Year Four girls should be particularly pleased with their tenacious tackles and the determination they showed.
U9 Rugby Festival at RGS The Grange:
Six very excited boys from Year Four took part in their first rugby festival of the year at RGS The Grange on Tuesday afternoon. It was the first time the boys have played ‘contact’ rugby for King’s St. Alban’s, so the team, made up of Ben D, Henry I, Zack L, Jasper M-H, Alban R, and Pip T, were all eager to put the tackling skills that they have learnt into practice!
The boys played four matches against Winterfold, RGS The Grange, and Blue Coat School and, despite receiving a few bumps during these games, all of the boys showed great energy, enthusiasm and passion during their matches. There were some great tackles made and plenty of tries scored, which helped to make it a very enjoyable afternoon. The rugby festival was a really useful experience for the boys, and a great opportunity to identify some areas for development in future matches.
Sports Reports Week 4:
U8 & U9 Hockey v The Elms
On Tuesday all of our Year 3 & 4 girls went to play hockey at The Elms. Even though this is only their second fixture I felt they were better prepared for the afternoon of hockey. Our Year 4 girls should be very pleased with their performances throughout the afternoon and I was pleased to see how they spread out and tried to use the space. There are some girls who show real grit as they move up the pitch and this was reflected in the number of goals scored through the afternoon.
The Year 3 are still a little like ‘bees around a honey pot’ and we need to work on their determination in front of goal to score, but a good start overall.
U8 Rugby Festival –
The boys made their way to Winterfold for the U8 rugby festival, this was the boys first taste of competitive school rugby. The main target for the afternoon was for them to fully enjoy it and improve their skills through the afternoon. The smiles from the boys throughout the afternoon showed their level of enjoyment and from game to game the boys improved their skills. Matthew and George both demonstrated their pace and agility with a number of great runs through the oppositions defence. As a team we identified a few things to work on going forward, these were to fully concentrate and make sure we are always onside. A great start to the rugby term for the U8 team and I look forward to seeing their progress through the school.
U11 Rugby v King’s Hawford
The boys were excellent in the warm up, having great accuracy and aggression in the tackle area. After agreeing two halves of 20 minutes, the boys were ready to take on Hawford. There were plenty of good tries, offloads and some great tackles being put in. The most pleasing thing as a coach to see was the smiles on faces and the ability to back themselves on the rugby pitch.
U11 KSA/KH A Millfield Festival
Having trained together for the first time on Monday the KSW Under 11A squad were keen to make a positive impression in their first outing as a combined side. Their first fixture was a tight physical encounter against a well drilled Millfield side. The two defences were in the ascendancy throughout and the game was decided by a breakaway try from Millfield in the first few minutes of the game. As the game went on King’s started to show greater attacking organisation and threatened to cut lose only to lose the ball at crucial moments. The next two games against Taunton School and Chafyn Grove saw the King’s side produce some scintillating rugby with the boys running in 9 tries and not conceding. They started to make great decisions in attack mixing direct running with excellent handling to threaten the outside channels. The boys finished the day looking forward to their next joint outing, when they will travel to Hymers College for their Under 11 7s festival.
U11 KSA/KH B Millfield Festival
After the steady drive down the M5 to Millfield School, in Somerset, the boys were keen to get going at the U11 rugby tournament at Millfield School. The tournament proved to be an excellent opportunity for six year 6 boys from St. Alban’s B-team to put the rugby skills that they have been developing in Games lessons and after school rugby club into practise against teams from; Millfield, Chafyn Grove, Selwood and Taunton School, alongside five year 6 boys from King’s Hawford.
A strong start in our first match against Chafyn Grove School resulted in a comfortable win, with impressive individual tries from Otto E, Joel B and Ethan E. Another excellent team performance followed straight after, with another convincing victory against Taunton School. Confidence was high after two wins from their first two matches, although the boys knew that Millfield would no doubt prove to be tough opponents. This proved to be the case, but the boys showed great teamwork in both attack and defence, alongside the boys from Hawford, to secure another comfortable and well-earned victory, which the boys were particularly proud of!
The toughest match of the day came in our last match, against Selwood’s A-team. It was a game that could have gone either way and resulted in a narrow loss, by just a single try. Jonas H, Henry R and William R all demonstrated strong tackling and running with the ball throughout the afternoon and everybody on the team represented King’s St. Alban’s extremely well.
