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King's St Alban's
9 February
U10 and U11 teams finish half-term on a sporting high
U11 A Netball v Hereford Cathedral School
The girls had a super afternoon of netball over at Hereford. It was the first time they have played 7-a-side and they really enjoyed it. Once they understood about positions and movement as to who goes for the ball, the space was opened up and they brought the ball nicely up the court. It was quite a tenacious match, and our girls had to remember to fight for every ball and not let the opposition take possession. We were only one goal down after the first quarter, but Hereford were quite strong, and we did let our heads go down a little. Nevertheless, we did stay positive right until the end of the match, despite Hereford winning by a fair few. There is lots to work on in Games, but it is exciting now to start the 7-a-side game. Well done to Millie, who was named the Opposition’s Player of the Match.
U11B v Hereford Cathedral School
This was the first 7-a-side match that our girls have played, and it took them a while to get used to the new positions and having an extra two players on the court. Our girls were a little too polite in the first quarter, allowing Hereford to have the 50/50 balls, but as the game progressed and they understood about snatching the ball, this definitely improved. Lottie S impressed with her shooting and her fast movement around the court, and Sophia made some excellent interceptions, using her height well and anticipating the pass. Shreya played an excellent quarter as Centre, showing some quick movement around the court. As the game progressed, the scores improved; we were 4-0 down at half-time, but managed to score three in the last two quarters, with the game finishing 5-3.
U10B v Hereford Cathedral School
Our Year Five girls put in an outstanding performance on Wednesday against Hereford. This was the first time they had played 7-a-side netball, and we weren’t expecting them to be playing this format. However, this didn’t deter their determination on court and they were quick to grasp the new positions and numbers on court. The thing that impressed most was their truly gritty performance; the game was quite physical, but nobody was phased or put off by this. In the first quarter, they moved the ball up court well and scored three goals. This energetic play continued throughout the game, with Ivy snatching the ball well, Izzy making the most of the space with her quick movement around the court, and Rosie shooting extremely well. Tilly was awarded Player of the Match for her all-round play and some exceptional interceptions. The girls were thrilled to win 7-4.
U10 A Netball v Hereford Cathedral School
The girls enjoyed playing an unexpected 7-a-side match. There was an excellent shooting combination of Skye and Zara, with Emma and Maddie in defence. The midcourt players were unstinting in their fitness and ability to move up the court: well done Charlotte, Georgia and Sophia. It was a nail-biting match as, at the end of the first quarter, King’s were losing 1-4. At half-time it was 3-6, but the third quarter was where we shone. We had most of the possession, the girls’ shooting was on fire, and we managed to bring the score back to 7-6 to King’s! After a very tense final and exhausting quarter, the score ended up 8-8! What a game! Well done to Georgia for being named as the Opposition’s Player of the Match.
U11A Hymers College Rugby 7s Tournament
The boys made the long journey of over three hours up to Hull on Tuesday to participate in the prestigious Hymers College Rugby 7s Tournament. This is a tournament that we have been attending for many years, and it involves some very big and well-known rugby schools from the north of the country. The boys were in high spirits on the way up and enjoyed laughing and joking with their friends. They played fantastically well in all five of their group games, winning four and drawing one, which meant that they finished top of their group. The weather was certainly not on-side, and it made playing conditions very tough. We came up against a very strong St Peter’s team in the final; it was a good battle but unfortunately we didn’t quite have enough to lift the cup! Mr Mason, Foundation Director of Sport, said how impressed he was with the standard of rugby throughout the afternoon and how excited he was at the prospect of the boys coming together next year.
U11B Hymers College Rugby 7s Tournament
Despite the very early start and the poor weather forecast, all of the boys taking part in the prestigious IAPS Rugby Sevens tournament at Hymers College on Tuesday 6th February were in great spirits during the long journey by minibus up north to Hull.
The boys were able to join forces with their friends from King’s Hawford to make a very strong B-team but, due to the nature of the competition, it was always going to be a tough day, playing against A-teams from other independent schools that are well renowned for their rugby. After a thorough team warm-up, the heavens opened, which meant that the boys were completely soaked through before their first match had even started. The boys put on a brave opening performance in their first match against a very strong team from RGS Newcastle, who went on to be crowned the overall winners, after narrowly beating our A-team in the final. Further losses to St. Peter’s and Scarborough Grammar School followed, before the boys found some form and scored a couple of well-worked team tries against Birkdale School, and then putting in a really pleasing performance to draw 2-2 with Hymers College’s B-team.
As the heavy rain started to ease off, the boys’ rugby started to improve and they saved their best performance for their last match against Hymers’ A-team in the fifth/sixth place group final. Even though the boys were still soaked through and increasingly tired after playing some intense rugby on very muddy ground, they demonstrated fantastic teamwork, effort, determination, and resilience to play their best rugby of the day. Ethan and Joel showed great strength when they had the ball and scored two well-deserved tries, but unfortunately this wasn’t quite enough, as our opponents went on to win the match by one score. Although the boys conceded a few soft tries at times throughout the tournament, they tried hard to play as a team when they had the ball, in very difficult and challenging conditions, and played better throughout the day.
The conditions obviously didn’t help and it would have been interesting to see how the boys played together in better conditions. However, despite the poor weather, the tournament proved to be a character-building experience, as well as being an important opportunity to learn how to cope with playing sport in difficult conditions, and we are proud of how well they all tried to do this. Their spirits obviously weren’t dampened too much, based on the volume and quality of their singing on the minibus during the journey home, courtesy of “D.J. Hooman”!
A massive ‘Well done!’ must go to Otto, TJ, Joel, Ethan and Henry, as well as the boys from King’s Hawford, who all represented The King’s School so valiantly. Thank you also to the parents from both schools who made the long journey there and back to support the boys: it was very much appreciated!
Mr Hooman would like to congratulate every single King’s St Alban’s boy who represented the School on Tuesday; the standard of rugby, the sportsmanship, the character and the resilience is exactly what makes King’s St Alban’s sport the way it is.
U11/10A v Hereford Cathedral
The U11/10A team were missing a few of their players on Wednesday afternoon due to illness, but the boys who played really stepped up and battled for the team. We started well and moved the ball around the pitch, giving the ball out wide and attacking down the wings. We were unfortunate not to take the lead in the first half, but we went into the break at 0-0. We started the second half slowly and let in two soft goals. The boys then showed good character and dug deep to keep working exceptionally hard and bring the game back level at 2-2. In the last few minutes of the game we conceded a goal, which meant the game finished 3-2. It was a good performance and as a team we were happy with the way we played. Well done boys.
U11/10B v Hereford Cathedral
The U10/11 B-team’s football match against Hereford Cathedral School on Wednesday afternoon proved to be a really exciting and useful opportunity for all of the boys who took part in this match. After the relatively short coach journey to Hereford, and a quick team warmup, the boys were all eager to play. Despite conceding an early first goal against the run of play, the boys were undeterred by this and worked hard to score the next goal, courtesy of a strong run from Jonas. The boys were then able to relax and pass the ball around nicely, which led to Aaron scoring a well-worked team goal.
With the score 2-1 to King’s St. Alban’s at half time, the boys became a little complacent and took too long distributing the ball, which allowed Hereford Cathedral to intercept the ball too easily. This resulted in a couple of goals for the home team, which put the score at 3-2, with ten minutes left to play.
Realising they were at risk of losing the match, there was an increased sense of urgency. All of the boys raised their game and some swift passing led to Jonas scoring his second well-taken goal of the match, before Joshua scored a fantastic goal with his left foot to ensure King’s St. Alban’s ended the game with a deserved win!
Joel, Ben, Luca all did a great job in defence, Will and Aaron tackled hard and played well in midfield, while Joshua and Jonas both ran really well with the ball and were a constant threat to the defence. A special mention must go to Harry, who was exceptional in goal, making some fantastic saves in open play, as well as saving a penalty to keep us in the game!
Well done to all of the boys who took part and thank you very much to all the parents and grandparents who came to watch!
U11/10C v Hereford Cathedral
Our trip away to Hereford Cathedral School was a resounding success. Brilliant football was played by all involved in the fixture, with some magnificent individual performances. The boys showed great teamwork skills, and excelled when structuring positions and talking tactics. There was high enthusiasm throughout, which was a defining factor in the outcome of the match. It was a very proud afternoon for all involved. Well Done!
U11/10D v Hereford Cathedral
The boys showed a spirited effort against a very tough Hereford side. They never gave up or let their heads drop, and carried on working hard on and off the ball. It was a learning day for all, and the boys played extremely well under wet and boggy conditions.
