From regionals to nationals, competitions and friendlies, our team captains give their reports on an amazing season of netball these past few months.
Milly and Skye, U13A Captains
This U13 netball season has been amazing. We have made so much progress throughout the season and have learnt so many new skills and ways of playing. Our squad has become more confident and versatile as we have competed in a variety of different matches, ranging from competitions like the Sisters n Sport plate and the School Sport Magazine cup, the GSA tournament at Condover Hall and many friendlies.
We have developed our courage as shown when we went out and beat Millfield Prep School 32-16, and resilience shown when we played Putney High. Some of the best moments in this season would be reaching School Sport Magazine Cup semi-final and the Sisters n Sport plate final. We wouldn’t be where we are now without the amazing coaching and support, we have had from our great sports teachers and netball coaches. All in all, I think this season has been remarkable, and I can’t wait to see how far we get next year!
Chiara, U14B Captain
The U14B team have had a great netball season, with matches that have really pushed us and improved our netball play. Playing lots of A team schools in the Sisters n Sport plate was a challenge but as a team we worked together to try and get the best results.
We were so proud to reach the quarter-final round. With some wins and some losses, we have learnt a lot through this season, especially how to work together well as a team. After a great two terms of netball, we all hope to continue with confidence into next season.
Purdy and Freya, U15A Captains
3 competitions, 18 games played and I felt confident that we’d do so well in each of them. We started off with strong competition from Sandringham, Redmaids and St Albans High and we deserved all our 16 wins.
We left 2022 as a great team and in 2023 we continued to perform. Our dedication and commitment to early morning/evening training, in and outside the school showed. We’ve laughed on and off court – and cried too.
There were a few memorable games. Oldham Hulme Grammar, we were neck and neck at the end of Q3. We were about to become rather fiery and emotional but our coaches held us together and we jumped ahead to win with a 7-goal difference, to take us through to the School Sport Magazine final. And of course, Portsmouth High school where we played away, after an all-day U15 tournament the day before, we sadly couldn’t perform as well as we normally do to lose in the penultimate game in the Sisters n Sport Cup Competition.
Katie, U16A Captain
Our first big tournament of the year was the English Schools County Tournament, we went out strong winning all our matches. We worked hard for every win and got through to regionals!
We were all raring to go for regionals after putting in a lot of hard work in training. We started off well and, although playing outside isn’t our preferred surface, we didn’t let this phase us and kept going even after a hard loss against Hurst. Keeping our heads up was hard, but we did it and managed to get through to the next stages of matches by coming 2nd in our pool. We were up against The Marist – a team we had never played before so didn’t know what to expect. We were down at half time but continued to fight for a place at nationals. After a tough fight we lost and realised we didn’t get through which was upsetting and disheartening.
We have had some nail-biting games in the Sisters n Sport Cup. We played St Catherine’s in the semi-finals which we knew wasn’t going to be easy. With lots of training and gym sessions behind us, we went in feeling confident and playing to our strengths. It was a very close game being 23-23 at halftime. Nevertheless, we kept going, playing our game. With many supporters we came out on top and won. Finals here we come!
It’s been such a great season with many great wins and memories made, we couldn’t have done this without our coaches Mrs Sillence and Miss Harris. As the season comes to an end, I’m so proud of the team and can’t wait for what the next season holds.
Coco and Hannah, Senior 2nd Captains
This year the 2nds have come together, starting from a collection of individuals to grow throughout the season into a team.
Through Thursday lunch training and Mrs Beattie’s overwhelming support, we have made our way to reach the Sisters in Sport final. This involved a variety of different level matches, including a bruising match against BCA, and a tight win against Downe House.
Thanks to our tenacious defensive unit, Eliza and Leo have never failed to dominate their opponents, whilst our shooting triple threat – Issy, Izzy and Izzy – who can always be relied upon. New member Flo has been a vital addition to join Hannah, Coco, Immy and Izzy in centre court, ensuring smooth transition of the ball and always keeping energy high. Through Immy’s resets and some pretty spectacular centre pass strategies, we’ve had a great netball season!
