The 1stXI enjoyed a very successful season, notably making the last 16 of the England Hockey Tier 2 Cup beating Churcher’s College, Magdalen College School and Cokethorpe before losing out in a narrow 2-1 defeat to Bedford Girls School. The team also went on tour to Loughborough University where they had played another visiting school, Monkton Combe and were fortunate to be coached by Loughborough 1stXI students who play for Great Britain U23. The trip was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to witness what top level hockey is like at one of the leading sporting universities.
Our Junior teams also enjoyed success, in particular the U15s who are a very promising age group with plenty of depth in the year. Only 24 goals were conceded by all three teams in their 15 matches during the term with exceptional performances by goalkeepers, Grace and Livvy. The ‘A’ team managed to get through to the Independent Schools Hockey Cup last 16, narrowly losing to Millfield. Having dominated the match, but failing to score when opportunities arose, the team lost out on ‘shuffles’ (1 vs 1), a very painful manner in which to lose but the future is very bright for this group of players.
The ‘B’ team were equally formidable in defence and as a team were often very hard working while the U15C team lost just one game. What has been particularly impressive about the girls was their willingness to work as a group and compete hard in matches.
The U14s had a busy term in their first year playing hockey at Bradfield. The ‘A’ team were frequently featured in the whole school team of the week due in large part to their attacking prowess. From their 15 matches they won an impressive 12 of them which is a tremendous achievement in their first term as a group. Under the guidance of Mr Wall and Mr Preston the group developed technically and tactically. With several girls playing County hockey as well as performance centre at Reading HC, the team has shown it can compete with the best in the region.
The girls narrowly missed out on the chance to compete in the National Finals after conceding a late goal to Wellington in the South Regional Finals. The ‘B’ team have had a consistent season and have made pleasing progress. After initially finding goals hard to come by several players have really shone notably Eva (LK) and Makeda (LJ). The ‘C’ team produced some outstanding performances, including the 4-1 victory against St. Johns and 7-1 win versus Canford.
While the hockey term is over for the girls there is much to look forward to when they return to the pitches later this year as the pupils look to build on this year’s successes.
