Last Thursday and Friday, the U10s and U8 A teams travelled to King’s Wimbledon to take part in their annual football tournament. The U10s got off to a great start winning all their group games and qualifying for the cup competition. They faced King’s in the semi-finals and were unlucky not to score in a close game. They were knocked out on penalties but it was an outstanding effort. A big well done to them and especially to Ed Jolliffe for his performance in goal. The U8s had a trickier day, not being quite as successful as the U10s in the group stages. However, once into the next stage of the tournament they made good progress and were clearly listening to Mr Barber as their movement and organisation improved. Congratulations to them.
The U9 C and Ds had their first tournament at Surbiton and had a great time as well as getting some good results.
On Friday, the U11s travelled to Aldenham School in north London for the ISFA regional tournament in the hope of reaching the Nationals. They lost two games in the group stages, but still made it through to the semi-finals where they were knocked out. Mr Henderson was pleased with their efforts and highlighted Kyle Osborne’s performance in stepping up from the U10s to represent the U11s.
Also on Friday, 7 Year 6 boys and their parents hosted a visiting team from Elizabeth College, Guernsey in their first trip over since 2019. The boys went bowling, played Hampton U12 Cs and took part in our U11 tournament on Saturday at Hampton. They had a great time and a big thanks from me to the families who hosted them. In case you were wondering, the result of our tournament was victory to an excellent King’s team against Bishopsgate in the final. The U11 As placed fourth and the U11Bs seventh out of 14 teams.
In amongst these tournaments, we’ve had fixtures against Claremont Fan Court, The Mall and St Piran’s and have had some great results. A big thanks to the Games staff for their hard work in making all these fixtures happen.
After the half term break, we will be emphasising two areas in football training. Firstly, we want the boys to develop a better awareness of space and player positions away from the ball through the habit of scanning the field, particularly when they are receiving the ball. Secondly to communicate more specifically on the pitch, using phrases such as ‘man on’, ‘time’, ‘line, ‘switch’ etc. and through non-verbal communication. So, if you happen to be taking your boys down to the park for a kickabout this break, do please reinforce these points.
And finally… House Football! Always a day of high passion and today was no different. The games were played in great spirit and once again it was close between Lancaster and York. There were three points in it and it was Lancaster who had won the most games to earn themselves the Cup! Congratulations to them.