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King's Hawford
2 February
Sports Teams Prove Future of Foundation Sport is Bright
U8 Netball vs King’s St Alban’s
In the warmth of the King’s St Alban’s sports hall, the Under 8s enjoyed a round-robin tournament, with the girls divided into six teams, each consisting of players from both King’s Hawford and King’s St Alban’s. It was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to be coached by members of the Games staff from both Prep Schools.
There were some excellent skills on display. The girls grew into the games, demonstrating improved awareness of finding space when attacking and ensuring that their landing foot was kept firmly planted on the ground. Miss Lake was particularly impressed with both Aurelia and Persie’s dominance on the court, as they found space quickly and passed the ball with precision, as well as with Elise’s ability to intercept the ball from the opposing team. Even after several weeks away from the court, Chaya slotted straight back into the team, demonstrating an increasing understanding of the game.
U9 Netball vs King’s St Alban’s
The U9 girls had the pleasure of travelling down to King’s St Alban’s on Tuesday afternoon and enjoyed meeting up with all the girls they are coming to know so well. We played a tournament of mixed teams, allowing for maximum court time, coaching from staff and a great opportunity to play in netball positions.
The girls displayed some wonderful game play and are really starting to use the space on the court, with the short sharp runs that we have been practicing in Games and Club sessions. Maysie-Jayne and Ariana demonstrated this beautifully, with some very well-timed cross-court runs creating space into which to pass. Mrs Butt was particularly impressed with the increased pace and accuracy of passing: Robyn, Valerie, and Adelyn were pinging passes around the court nicely and yet again the shooting was excellent! An impressive number of girls were successful at getting on the score sheet.
The girls are showing real love and enjoyment for netball and are learning new tactics and game play quickly. This will set them up very well for the fixture against Malvern The Downs and RGS Springfield next week.
U10 & U11 Netball vs King’s St Alban’s
Inside The Barn, Miss Lake and Mrs Clark led a round-robin tournament, consisting of six mixed teams. The eight girls from King’s Hawford were extremely helpful and polite towards their visitors, showing them around the school site between matches to collect well-earned snacks and drinks.
On court, the girls showcased some impressive skills and set plays. Sophie confidently called for the ball, finding space when necessary and intercepting the ball on several occasions. Olivia W and Lily showed improvement in their game and positional awareness, making sensible passes to get the ball closer to the post. Watching Jess play was a delight: she grew into each game and even helped opposing players learn where to stand on the court at the beginning of play. Elizabeth successfully scored a number of goals, as did Chloe S, and Chloe T and Pip K used their speed to break free from their defending players. At the end of the final match, the King’s St Alban’s staff declared Jess to be their Player of the Tournament from King’s Hawford.
On the hard surface courts, Mrs Butt’s teams relished the opportunity to see their friends from King’s St Alban’s and once again play alongside them.
The standard of netball was very high across the board, but it was the pace of play and accuracy of passing that most impressed Mrs Butt. We have been working hard in Games and Club sessions on the quality and accuracy of passing and it was great to see the results of this in a competitive game situation. Once again, the shooting was on point and a number girls were able to get on the score sheet.
The Year Five girls had the opportunity to play with Year Six and certainly rose to the occasion: Lyra, Mary, Thea, Olivia G and Iza all contributed significantly to their team’s performance, with slick passing and clear communication.
Robyn and Sienna in Year Six had fantastic games, with great footwork and early balls into the attacking circle, and Holly, Jetta, Harriet and Annabel intercepted at every opportunity. It was lovely to see Hattie D back playing and enjoying the game after resting an injury.
It was a particularly successful day of netball, with over 70 girls participating in competitive matches to a very high standard. It was really valuable experience for them to be part of a high intensity tournament format and great preparation for King’s St Alban’s and King’s Hawford as they prepare for their IAPS Netball tournaments. Well done to all the girls involved!
U8 Football vs King’s St Alban’s & Winterfold
Hot on the heels of their strong showing against visiting Year 4 teams to King’s Hawford last week, the Year 3 boys put in two excellent performances in a triangular contest against King’s St Alban’s and Winterfold. Up against Winterfold first, the boys played their most pleasing football of the term to date with the front three looking sharp, interchanging passes and scoring some well worked goals. The defence was solid restricting the Winterfold strikers to a handful of chances. Josh R and Tom H deserve great credit for the way in which they led the line. This was a strong performance all round by the team in a very even game. In the St Alban’s match, our side were able to monopolise on the space that they were able to find and put together some well constructed attacks built from the back. This allowed them to apply consistent pressure throughout the game resulting in them converting a number of the chances they made, including a great individual goal by Bruce W.
U9 Football vs King’s St Alban’s & Winterfold
On Tuesday afternoon the U9 boys continued their footballing progress and development as we hosted a triangular fixture on the top field. It was great to welcome teams from King’s St Alban’s and Winterfold for an afternoon of close and competitive football matches. In both matches, the King’s Hawford boys demonstrated pleasing levels of commitment and effort and continued to develop their positional awareness and use of space in both attack and defence. The highlights of the afternoon included two well-taken goals from Arthur G and, player of the day, Charles H.
U10 Football vs King’s St Alban’s & Winterfold
Mr Marsland’s U10 team played well as a team, passing the ball more accurately compared to previous weeks. The team mixed up their positions today allowing each player to try different positions. The team still managed to amass an impressive 9 goals during the two games.
Mr Stigant’s Year 5 team showed how much the have progressed in just a few weeks against St Alban’s and then Winterfold. More organised and attentive at the back, combative in midfield and clinical up front, they put in two strong performances that saw them scoring freely whilst being frugal at the back in both games. All the boys put in noteworthy performances, working hard for the team but special mentions this week go to Nayel M-S for his dogged tackling in midfield, James B for some excellent play in the number 10 slot and George C for scoring a screamer from 20 yards. The boys are looking forward to their next fixtures, where they will seek to build further on an excellent week.
U11 Football vs King’s St Alban’s and Winterfold
The theme of football triangular fixtures continued on Wednesday afternoon when the U11 football teams played host to their peers from King’s St Alban’s and Winterfold. The Hawford boys worked hard across the two very competitive and well-matched fixtures. The energy levels were very impressive and it was pleasing to see the boys beginning to improve their decision making and communication when in possession of the ball. The Hawford players dominated possession for long spells but often came up against strong defenders and were thwarted by acrobatic saves from the King’s St Alban’s goalkeeper in particular. The highlights of the afternoon included a superb finish by Will N from an excellent James B corner and a quite remarkable free kick from the halfway line, from George O, that found the roof of the Winterfold net.
