HOCKEY NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2017 IN THIS ISSUE: American Universi es. Millfield Ins tute of Sport and Wellbeing. Boys Round.

Transcription

1 HOCKEY NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2017 IN THIS ISSUE: Millfield Ins tute of Sport and Wellbeing American Universi es Boys Round Up Girls Round Up Club Hockey OM Society Review with Laura Myers House Hockey Indoor

2 MLLFIELD INSTITUTE OF SPORT AND WELLBEING An insight into Athle c Condi oning with Mr J Benne Alongside their hockey and academics, the students have had the opportunity to receive and par cipate in Athle c Development sessions throughout the term. Within the world class facili es on site, this opportunity has been made available to a number of the teams. With the students very busy schedules, commitment to these sessions has been impressive, and some credible improvements have been made across the board. From 7am on a Monday morning with the U16 Boys, to last period on a Friday, the week is filled with opportuni es to nurture individual physical development, and provide educa on on fitness and performance, such as lifestyle and nutri onal habits. The focus of the sessions in the gym has been around movement skills and competency, through different forms of locomo on and exercise. It has been designed around developing skills and a ributes that may not necessarily be developed on the hockey pitch, but will ul mately aid performance. Addi onally, it has been a focus to develop a resilience to injury by increasing strength and stability. This has been reinforced by a robust warm up protocol developed to ac vate specific muscles, in order to prepare the students for their field ac vity. Working alongside the physiotherapists, this has proved worthwhile as we have seen a significant drop in preventable injuries throughout the school this year. We hope to see more pupils become involved in the Athle c Development programme a er Christmas, as it has proved to be an enjoyable and worthwhile challenge for those currently engaged.

3 CLUB LIFE A message from the Director of Hockey One of the unique features of the Millfield hockey programme is it s close affinity with the local clubs in the area. Playing club hockey is not essen al and there will never be a pressure to play club or a prejudice against those pupils who chose not to register for an external club. As a hockey programme we do want to facilitate club opportuni es to our pupils to be exposed to new environments, whether that is at Senior level or at Junior. Individual player development is a priority for us and the club influence is a great vehicle for this. Exposing young people to the club environment on a weekly basis, that would be in addi on to their school hockey and in some cases instead of, will con nue to be our aim. There is however a challenge in striking the right balance that we are mindful of. Enabling club exposure to players whilst not isola ng them from their school peer group is essen al. We ac vely encourage and facilitate the link but not at the detriment of own school club ethos. Introducing and educa ng our young people on the virtues of a team is as important as individual development. There is a sa sfac on (and at the same me a challenge) of contribu ng to something bigger than themselves. Our goal of being the most unique and innova ve hockey programme in the country will con nue to be a work in progress and the club hockey element is very much part of this process. As highlighted by Jody Paul, Team Bath Buccaneers Head Coach and England U18 Mens Coach Team Bath Buccaneers are passionate about the development of hockey players suppor ng talented youth players to strive for interna onal representa on, contribute to an inclusive and successful club environment and to be inspiring role models for the next genera on. This can only be achieved through strong partnerships and rela onships that share these values. Our rela onship with Millfield is a great example of where young players are supported in their development whilst studying to achieve playing at a very high standard, train in inspiring facili es and learning from great coaches and players around them. Stu and Louis have benefi ed from this rela onship and now progressing well through the NAG's environment

4 BOYS AUTUMN TERM ROUND UP Senior Boys: The senior boys have had a tough run of fixtures this term, typically playing a number of difficult games against clubs, university, and some of the other strong hockey schools in the country, as they build up to term two. It is pleasing to highlight that 21 pupils have represented the 1XI this term. Standout performances for the 1XI include a 4-4 draw with Repton on the road and a 2-2 draw with Kingston Grammar at home. The same day, the senior boys sent a 2XI group to Kingston Grammar for a 2-1 away win. Ben Rea was highlighted as the most valuable player on the day while Harry Pullan and Max Mellor chimed in with the goals. The senior boys also enjoyed some success against the universi es, put to the test against a strong Bath side before bea ng Bristol. Ben Ashton-Rigby and Ollie McTear have been the most threatening forwards for the 1XI, scoring 4 each. Stuart Rushmere has joined in on the ac on from the midfield, scoring from set piece as well as open play. Louis Wrenn and Ned Dunning have been instrumental in the sides progression, providing strength in defence as well as a threat going forward. The 1XI are now looking forward to a training camp in Gibraltar in early January before the compe on term begins. This term, the 1XI Boys opted to wear Christmas jumpers to an away match in a empt to raise money for one fo the schools chosen chari es. Thank you to all of the boys who donated money to Etatu - aimed at building a resourceful community through educa on and enterprise in Msambweni, Kenya.

5 BOYS AUTUMN TERM ROUND UP U16 Boys: The junior boys have had a very produc ve term, compe ng against some of the other strong hockey schools in the country, older groups, as well as some of the top clubs in the region. Standout performances include an early win against Richard Huish 2XI, running away 7-2 win with six different scorers. A couple of weeks later, the U16A and B side kept two clean sheets against Kingston Grammar courtesy of Harvey Morland and James George. It was pleasing to expose more U16 players to compe ve hockey during the first term where our major focus is on the development of pupils. Following that, the U16A side played a double-header against Team Bath. A er losing the first leg 1-2 in October, the group regathered in November to win the second match 4-2, evidence of their development as a squad. Jamie Baird and Korbyn Chapman lead the way with goals, scoring four goals each in as li le as six games. Key figures for the side include Joe Mallet, Sco Reed, and Ben Shaw. A special men on should also be made of Josh Kelly, who was predominantly an U14B player last year, and has now played 2x U16A fixtures in the first term. Well done Josh! Athle c Condi oning Intern, Mr Benne, working closely with our U16 Boys - warm up ac va on protocol

6 GIRLS AUTUMN TERM ROUND UP Senior Girls: For the first me in a decade Millfield hockey has been able to put out consistently four Senior sides. This has been one of the great posi ves to take from the term and a sign of how hockey is thriving within the school itself. The 1st XI have had an impressive term both in the Saturday friendly fixtures as well as in the Na onal Compe ons. We have been able to remain unbeaten in a challenging fixture card but more importantly been able to develop as a group. Difficult to highlight individuals in such a talented side but Bea Benne has been tremendous at the back as has Emma Manton upfront with 35 goals already scored! Opportuni- es have been given to players to play 1st XI hockey with 26 pupils given the chance to wear the team s colours whilst releasing others to be exposed to club hockey. Ellie Emo and Vicki McCabe have both debuted in the Investec Women s Premier League for Cli on HC and others such as Anna Gabbitass, Becky Manton, Gabi Dyer and Ki y Chapple have played for their respec ve clubs. The 1st XI now look forward to the Spring term a er being crowned West Regional champions as well as progressing through to the quarter final of the Independent Schools Compe on (ISHC). The strength in depth is another real asset to the programme, bearing fruit with the 2nd XI finishing the term so successfully. With 11 fixtures played the team has scored 34 goals winning nine with just the one loss. Emma Cos gan and Rosie Smith are two players who have performed consistently throughout the season, se ng the standard for others to follow. The 3rd and 4th XIs have been challenged this term with tough fixtures but it has been so pleasing to see such enthusiasm and an eagerness to improve. Jennifer Sykes has been prolific in front of goal for the 3rd XI and Eloise Li man s approach to her hockey has been nothing short of superb. The U16 group is regarded as the school s development group and it has been this very aspect that has been so impressive about this side, this term. Their ability to take on board informa on and ac on a plan has been excellent. Despite their Semi Final loss in the Regional Tournament there is no doub ng their poten al with stand out performances from so many of them.

7 Opera on Christmas Child: This Christmas, the girls gathered to prepare shoeboxes of gi s for children in need. Thank you to all the girls who provided shoeboxes, packed and sent with love, to needy children around the world.

8 GIRLS AUTUMN TERM ROUND UP U15 Girls: The U15 A team have had a great season, playing 11 games winning 9, drawing 1 and losing 1. Scoring 45 goals and conceding 12. Top scorer with an incredible 18 goals in 11 games was Julia Spence, followed by Harriet Dimdore-Miles with 9 goals in 8 games. Jade Vardon-Cardy and Ki y Chapple have consistently produced performances of the highest quality in the centre of the park. Bella Dawkins has also produced some great performances at le back and has considerable improved since the start of the season. The girls made it through to the 3 rd round of the Independent Schools Na onal Cup, where they met Surbiton High School who won the U14 Na onals last year, the final score was 3-1 despite an outstanding second half performance which saw the girls produce their best hockey this season. Stand out performances of the season include the thrilling 4-2 victory over Marlborough and the 5-1 win over Blundells. The U15 B team have had a tough season o en coming up against strong opposi on, the team has played 10 games winning 1, drawing 2 and losing 7. The main highlight has been the teams solitary win over Queen s College courtesy of a Brace from Monika Volodarski. Throughout the season the standout performer has been Jess Kelleway, teams have o en found Jess hard to beat in the Millfield net pulling out some astonishing saves. FOLLOW US ON

9 GIRLS AUTUMN TERM ROUND UP U14 Girls: The year 9 girls have had a produc ve term of fixtures. Across all three teams, the year has played 34 fixtures, having only lost 5 and drawn 1. The A team boasts an impressive 53 goals in 18 games with Lucy Chalmers leading the way with 14! Coco Heyring and Kai Snell have also been instrumental in the a acking circle. Although the group were unfortunately knocked out of the na onal compe on on penalty flicks, the A team can be proud of winning fixtures over all four teams who made the semi-finals. Defensively, the B team has the best record, conceding only 4 goals this term! The most memorable game for the B team was against Marlborough College, clinching on to a 2-1 win at home. Lo e Wakeham-Dawson and Adelina Drauschke have been the standout goalkeepers for the A and B teams. Caitlin McLoughlin, Sophie Hamilton, Jo Champion, and Rebecca Stowell have been consistently impressive as a defensive unit with the B group this term. The C team have played 6, won 3 and lost 3. Standout performances include wins over Sherborne Girls, Kings College Taunton, and Cli on College. Ella Gambold, Emely Gutske, Abigail Barber, and Amelia Mullins have all been key figures within this group. It is pleasing to note that 22 girls have represented the A team this term, highligh ng the strength in depth of the year 9 group FOLLOW US ON

10 INDOOR HOCKEY U18 Boys with Ben Hooper The team headed into coun es high in confidence a er a handful of friendly fixtures in prepara on. As with the opening game of most tournaments, it was a nervy affair. A er a slow start, we fought hard for a 1-0 win vs a well organized Kings Bruton team. A er progressing through the group we played Queens Taunton in the Semi Final in what was our best performance of the night, going up 3-0 before half me and seeing the game out with rela ve comfort. The final against Taunton school saw us go a goal behind. Following some great keeping by Paul, we were s ll only 1-0 down at half me. A er a few stern words from Coach Ma hews we upped the tempo in the second half and with goals from Rushmere, Hooper and Dunning we ran out 3-1 winners - County Champions! Despite domina ng the first game of regionals from start to finish the inability to put the ball in the net meant the game ended 1-1. Although it wasnt the perfect start, we showed some posi ve signs of how we wanted to play. The second game saw Hooper score a hatrick against Claysemore in a comfortable 3-0 victory. Going into the next game against South Dartmoor we knew a win would effec vely put us into the Semi Finals. However, things did not go our way. A er a disallowed goal from Rushmere and a debatable goal on their side, we found ourselves in an uphill ba le during the second half. Despite a late surge we lost the game 3-1 pu ng us in a must win game against Queens Taunton, effec vely, a Quarter- Final match. Although we were 1-0 down, we stayed calm and a trademark Rushmere flick from a short corner saw us go into the break on level terms. We con nued to dominate the second half and 2 more goals saw us progress through the group in second place to set up a Semi-Final with big rivals Dean Close. 2 goals at the start of each half saw us have the game under control. However, Dean Close were never going to go down without a fight and some heroic defending from Aldridge and Dunning in par cular helped us over the line with a clean sheet. This meant we had qualified for Na onals! In the final we played South Dartmoor, the team that beat us in the group stages. The game started slowly before the opposi on went 1 goal up with a swi counter a ack. A tac cal change at half me and a determina on not to be beaten a second me in a ma er of hours lead to an unbelievable second half performance from the whole team eventually winning 4-1 and topped off what was already an extremely successful day.

11 INDOOR HOCKEY U16 Girls: with Sammy Welsh Our indoor hockey season began with coun es where a er a few training sessions together, we played our first match against a strong Kings Bruton side, losing 2-0. This however, was to be a vital learning experience for all the girls. We picked ourselves up, with the inten on of rec fying our mistakes from the first match, winning the following three games. We scored 10 goals and secured ourselves a place at the regional finals. Similar to coun es, we started our regional campaign quite slowly. Ki y Chapple rose to the occasion to score two goals as we beat Sherborne 3-2. One of the main highlights for me with this group is how quickly we raise our standards and demand higher expecta ons of ourselves. We beat Dean Close 6-1 with 4 goals from Diketso Karas, then Blundells 5-0 with 2 goals from Harry Dimdore-Miles. This set up a semi-final against Exeter School. We were constantly improving and went on to beat Exeter School 3-0, pu ng us through to na onals! In the final we came up against Blundell s for a second me that day, feeling confident that we could secure the trophy. The final score was 3-0 with 2 goals from Annabelle Davis to end off what had been a great day. Our achievements can be shown through our stats of 30 goals for and only 6 against thanks to our keepers Marianna Kozina and Gee Dolan. In my opinion, the sides most valuable player would be Jade Vardon-Cardy, who began with no indoor experience and has improved with each game. She is formidable down the right side in both a ack and defence, with the threat of being able to get the ball from one end to the other with ease. Now we look ahead to the

12 INDOOR HOCKEY U16 Boys with Joe Mallet On Monday the 4th of December we competed at the county compe on. Our first match was against a strong Kings Bruton team. A er a a cagey 0-0 draw, we moved on to a must win game against Kings Taunton. Although we weren't playing our best of hockey we won 3-0 with goals from Mallet and Shaw to progress into the semi-final against hosts, Wellington. A er one win under our belt we felt confident going into this game. With a standout performance from Chiu at le back we beat Wellington 5-1. In the final we faced Kings Bruton. We played our best hockey in this game with a very disciplined an organised defensive structure. This gave us a good pla orm to score 3 goals the best coming from fluid passing and a clinical finish to secure the tle. Our first game of regionals was against Torquay Grammar. We played a good game scoring two goals from precise short corner rou nes. Up next we faced King Edwards Bath. In this game we showed our talent with lots of good counter a acking hockey. This resulted in a 4-1 win with a hat-rick from Shaw. A er this we played Dean Close. With a man down, we played with a structured defence in a empt to give li le away. A er a couple of decisions not going our way we lost 2-1 in a hard fought match. We finished second in our group to face the winners of the other pool - Kings Bruton again! We started off well with structured play and put away two early goals. At the start off the second half Kings Bruton put us under pressure with some good passing through our defensive shape. We then won consecu ve short corners late in the second half to run down the clock at the end of the match. This meant that we faced Dean Close in the final. We were confident that we could win if we played as well as we had been playing. With some tac cal instruc ons from Mr Mathews we did not give them any chance of scoring. With a good finish from Reedy, Dean Close then answered back with a clinical short corner. In the la er parts of the game it was stale mate. This meant the game would be decided on penalty flicks. We won the toss and chose to flick first. The penalty flicks started with two missed flicks from both sides. Harvey Morland with two outstanding saves and quality flicks from Shaw and Chiu the regional championship was ours. Looking forward to 2018, both U18 and U16 teams will go to the Na onal Finals at Whitgi the first weekend back a er the Christmas break.

13 HOUSE HOCKEY Year 9 Girls House Hockey 1: Acacia Rhinos 2: Acacia Wombats 3: Acacia Cheetahs 4. Ivythorn Flames Senior Girls House Hockey 1: Overleigh 2: Lakes 3: Portway

14 AN UPDATE IN AMERICA with Ffion Thompson Georgie McTear had a storming first season for UMass Amherst, winning: A10 Rookie, A10 All-Rookie Team, A10 All-Conference Second Team, and Won NFHCA Northeast All-Region Second Team. OM Sarah Mansfield is the Assistant Coach at UMass and was thrilled to have another Old-Millfieldian in their ranks. There season began with a trip to California and ended with an overall ra o of They qualified for the A10 Tournament in second seed playing VCU in the semi-final, winning 2-0. They then faced SJU in a nail bi ng final, coming back from 2-0 down to draw the game with Georgie scoring the equalizing goal. Unfortunately, their season came to an end in double over me! All in all, a very good season for Georgie, Sarah, and UMass. University of Massachuse s NCAA Ranking: 22nd Conference: Atlan c Record: 13-8 Link: UMass Field Hockey Victoria Boyle and Olivia Allin both had successful juniors seasons at Harvard, both star ng every game they played. The Harvard hockey team had an impressive season, winning 13 out of the 17 games they played. This goes down as the most successful season in Harvard field hockey history. In the Ivy league, Harvard came second and lost only one game to Princeton who went on to win the compe on. Victoria made five assists and one defensive save. Olivia had three goals, 2 assists and one defensive save. Olivia was also awarded "All-Ivy Honorable Men on" at the end of the season. Harvard University NCAA Ranking: 16th Conference: Ivy League 2017 Record: 13-4 Link: Harvard University Field Hockey

15 Elisha Evans had a great first season out in America with Wake Forest University. Elisha said the highlight of her season was bea ng two top 10 ranked teams - Boston Collage (3-0) and UNC (3-1). Wake Forest overall win-loss ra on was 12-8, with a tough schedule. They made NCAA tournament in which Elisha played every game, scoring 4 goals! Wake Forest University NCAA Ranking: 13th Conference: Atlan c Coast 2017 Record: 12-8 Link: Wake Forest University Field Hockey Ffion Thompson also had her first semester in America, balancing both her masters degree and playing for Northeastern University. Northeastern had a very tough schedule, playing many top ranked teams and ended the season with a 8-12 win/loss ra o. They reached the CAA tournament where they unfortunately were knocked out by Delaware - the reigning NCAA champions from Ffion won the Northeastern Field Hockey One More award and scored a handful of goals from the penalty spot across the season. Northeastern University NCAA Ranking: 44th Conference: Colonial 2017 Record: 8-12 Link: Northeastern University Field Hockey Holly Jackson represented the Yale Bulldogs as a sophomore this term. Yale had a pleasing 2017 season, achieving a winning record for the first me since They had a few very close losses in Ivy play which meant they did not fare too well in the final standings. However, they enjoyed many great wins, including a couple of important victories over a Top 20 ranked team. Yale University NCAA Ranking: 50th Conference: Ivy League 2017 Record: 9-8 Link: Yale University Field Hockey

16 OM SOCIETY ROUND UP with Laura Harry Gibson has just competed at the Odisha Men s Hockey World League Finals in Bhubaneswar for England. Although the group finished 8th, England showed good signs for the future, drawing 2-2 with the eventual winners, Australia. Harry now has 22 caps for England. In 2017, Harry has been fortunate enough to Win the Super 6s and the Men s Premier Division, claim bronze at the EuroHockey Championships, and win gold at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Ed Horler debuted for Great Britain against Germany in a recent 3-match test series in Mannheim. The side lost 2 and drew 1 as the looked to prepare for the HWL in India. Ed said They were pre y sharp and didn't give much away a very smart team! Hannah Cozens is gearing up for the Commonwealth Games in Australia, in April Wales face India, England, South Africa, and Malaysia, in that order as they aim to make the next stage of the compe on. Wales finished 4th at the EuroHockey Championship II in Cardiff this August. Hannah is trus ng that that experience will put her in good stead for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Toby Reynolds-Co erill has been named in the Great Britain Elite Development Programme (EDP). The EDP has been launched with the aim of developing future Olympians. Toby is s ll with Loughborough Students - they sit 2nd in the North Conference table of the Men s Na onal League having conceded the least amount of goals.