Hockey Term U13 Girls

This term has continued to demonstrate the depth of hockey talent at GMS. Invigorated by the success of the U14 squad before Christmas, the U13s were determined to match their achievements.

With four of the U13 girls playing key roles in the U14 success, and with the U13 team being undefeated in the league, expectations for the In2hockey national competition were extraordinarily high for this group of girls. Already used to competing on a regional stage, Zoe Clarke, Kiera Allen, Tilly Brown and Alba Braybrooke, stepped back into 7-aside hockey bursting with confidence. First up were the county championships, where they asserted their experience from earlier in the year, helped along by the young Year 7 recruit Colette Fitzpatrick: they dominated every game they played.

The girls finished the tournament undefeated, with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Wycombe High School, a tight but deserved 1-0 win over Beaconsfield High School and a conclusive 4-1 win over local rivals Sir William Borlase, to be crowned county champions.

It should be noted that every single GMS player played their part in the tournament. New to hockey this year, Evie Highgate affirmed herself as a strong defender with, Viola Marengo, Maellys Antoine and Georgia Pana, continued to progress from the great start they made in Year 7. Kelsey Smith was back between the posts and made some fantastic saves when required to, but given the strength of the outfield players, she had a fairly quiet tournament.

Many opposition coaches remarked on the talent, determination and teamwork displayed by the GMS girls. The progress they have made, both individually and as a team, is phenomenal and this is simply down to their hard work and unrelenting resolve to improve. The girls are no longer in these competitions to make up the numbers; they are now a formidable force in Buckinghamshire.

Onto the regional finals, where it seemed coaching staff of 4 plus per team wasn’t out of the ordinary. Undeterred, the GMS girls got off to a bright start against last year’s runners up: St George’s. The girls produced some excellent attacking play, with Tilly Brown winning two short corners within the first three minutes. GMS dominated the game from start to finish, but unfortunately came out with a 2-0 loss, after two break away goals from the opposition. It should be noted, that St Georges went on to win the tournament. Next up was Headington, where again the GMS girls dominated the game in terms of possession, short corners and D penetrations. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a magnetic force-field around the goal, so the teams ended up sharing the points, with the final score ending 1-1.

This meant that the girls faced Beaconsfield High School, the other qualifiers from Buckinghamshire, in their quarter final. Having beaten Beaconsfield High twice already, the girls went into the game confident that they could get the desired result, but equally not underestimating their opposition. As expected, the game was tight and very end to end, with both schools putting everything on the line to try to win. Zoe Clarke epitomised this, taking a ball to the foot after a cracking strike at a BHS short corner, but refused to go off and fought on bravely. BHS took the lead in the first half with some very skilful play and excellent strike, which was against the run of play. GMS didn’t give up though, with some excellent team build up play, Kiera Allen managed to break free from the BHS defence and slot the ball into the right hand corner, with a perfectly struck reverse hit.

In the closing stages both teams had their opportunities, but Alba Braybrooke put in some truly outstanding tackles to keep the momentum with GMS. The girls could have put the game to bed on several occasions, but a mixture of pressure and great goal keeping from BHS, meant that it wasn’t to be. The game finished as another 1-1 draw, with the girls, unfortunately, losing out in a penalty shoot-out competition.

The disappointment couldn’t have been more prominent throughout the GMS team, which demonstrates the interminable care and desire shown by every single member of the squad. Although the results didn’t go the way the squad had hoped, the teachers have no doubt that the frustration will make them stronger as hockey players, and be used as a learning tool to help them progress in the future. The expectations the girls set for themselves, confirms their growth in confidence, and belief in each other. The girls have shown over the last few months, that with hard work and persistence, you can be successful.

GMS, the teachers and trainers are incredibly proud of the all the girls’ achievements.