U11 B Netball- Westbourne House Tournament
Date: 04/10/17
Result: 3rd
The U11Bs were very excited to be competing in a tournament and they were bursting with energy from the off. This tournament was purely for U11B teams and so it was a god opportunity to play in a tournament with equivalent teams from other schools.
We arrived early and set up camp, but not before everyone had selected a ‘lucky stone’ from the car park. These stones were to become a them for the day as apparently it was essential to form a rockery before each match! The first match was against Great Ballard. The first thing that struck the girls was the height of the opposition. The games were 5 minutes each way and so a quick start was needed. Unfortunately it took a couple of minutes for the girls to get their heads in gear and conceded 2 early goals. This woke them up a bit and the u11s soon hit their stride, playing some lovely netball. In the second half, the play was all Amesbury and it didn’t take long to score 2 goals and to be level. As the final whistle went, Amesbury were pushing for a winner. A good start against strong opposition.
The second game was against Cranleigh, a team that we only played last week. The girls did not make the same mistake as in the first match and quickly raced into a 2-0 lead after some fantastic shooting. In the second half the girls seemed to switch off a little and Cranleigh scored an early goal. Most of the second half was spent defending for Amesbury, but this was done with great assurance, preventing Cranleigh from staging a come back. Final score 3-1.
Next up was Oakwood with a team of mainly year 5 players. Although some great netball was played in this match there was a definite case of dropping our level and forgetting to play our own game. Despite this this game was won comfortably 4-0.
After a bit of a break we played Ryde. They had just had a very close game with Great Ballard and so the girls knew it would be a tough match. Without being prompted, the rockery was formed, a team talk given by Emily and a warm up started. From the first whistle it was clear that the girls were 100% motivated and wanted to win. The netball that followed was fantastic. Every player on the court did their own job with enthusiasm and class, meaning that we created a lot of chances and gave away very few. Some more excellent shooting ensured that our efforts were reflected on the score card with the final score standing at 8-1.
The final group stage match was another tough match. Westbourne House had a lot of parents in support and were playing some great netball. It was an extremely tight match but our marking went off the boil a little and the girls I think felt a little overwhelmed by the parental support for the opposition. The match finished 5-3 in Westbourne’s favour.
All of this meant that we finished 2nd in our group and qualified for the semi-final vs Prebendal. They had won all of their games so far. The game swung from one team from the other, just as one team got ahead, the other countered. The pace of the game was extremely high and the girls on both teams started to look very tired at the end. Credit must go to Flora in this game who took every chance offered to her on the first time of asking and ensured that we stayed in the match. At full time the score stood 3-3. This meant that we had to re draw for centre and play golden goal. Unfortunately, Prebendal won the toss and had the centre pass. Some slick movement from them meant that, despite our best efforts to intercept, they quickly got the ball to their shooter who, after a few shots, scored the goal to put them into the final.
The girls were understandably a bit upset but they soon snapped out of that when they realised they had a 3rd place play off to play. Unfortunately I did not get to see them play in this match as I had to umpire the final but several of the teachers from other schools came up to me and told me how well they had played. They won this match 5-2 meaning that we came 3rd. An excellent result.
It was a real pleasure taking this group of girls to the tournament. They were good humoured, played some excellent netball and conducted themselves with a maturity far beyond that of their year group. Well done.
Miss Toynton
