This week's Sports Report features a sports tour special, for which the girls' hockey team travelled to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for five days. In a trip that featured three hockey matches, training sessions, touristic outings, and good food; our hockey girls made the most of their trip that is sure to set them up in good stead for the rest of the season!
The following is a report of the trip, courtesy of Girls' Sports Captain, R Allen:
During half term, the girls’ hockey squad visited Amsterdam. We left early morning on Saturday 22 November, and arrived in Amsterdam later that afternoon. We arrived at the hostel and had some time to settle in before heading out to Wagamama to start the trip off! On the first day, we started with a hockey match against Haarlem Hockey Club - a tough squad who had strong stick skills and well-planned tactics. E Browne and I Wood playing a strong attack and had several shots at goal. However, after a great game of strong defence from E Young and G Bradbury, we ended the game with a loss against a fantastic club. Player of the match was awarded to O Parkin. Players’ Player was awarded to G Bradbury and Coach's Player went to G Weedon. Following our hockey match, we went on a pancake cruise which involved many pancakes of which the winner of the most eaten pancakes was A Botterill, who ate an impressive six pancakes on the cruise! We were able to see a beautiful view of Amsterdam from the river and after, we took a stroll down the riverbank and ended with dinner at the hostel after a hard day of hockey.
For our second day in the Netherlands, we visited the windmill farm which was just south of Amsterdam. We explored the small town and stumbled upon a free cheese tasting shop! We were unlucky to be rained on, but this didn't stop us! After lunch, we headed off to an intense training session before our second match of the trip. During our training session, we improved our stick skills and short corner practice. After a hard training session, we felt extremely prepared for our second match. Our second match started at 5.00pm and we played an incredibly strong team who had a strong attacking plan and great use of channels. Throughout the game, our defence of A Botterill, H Parsons, S Goggins, and S Reid stayed strong and quickly overturned the ball. After a hard fight from the attacking team of T Firth, E Browne, and A Townsend, we scored our first goal of the trip. After a hard fight from the girls, we played a mixed match with the other squad of girls which was great fun. The match ended with R Allen receiving Player of the Match, T Firth receiving Players’ Player and A Botterill receiving Coach's Player. We ended the day with dinner at the hockey club, mixing and socialising with the girls from the club.
On Tuesday morning, we woke up bright and early to catch a transfer into the centre of Amsterdam. We spent a couple hours strolling through the city centre, exploring the canals and the flower market. We then were given time to explore and visit shops in the centre of Amsterdam. Many of us visited Tony’s Chocolate Factory and ate lunch on the canal. After visiting Amsterdam, we transferred back to our hostel to get ready for our final and best match on the trip. The match started off strong with an excellent attacking squad consisting of E Browne, T Firth, I Wood and G Weedon. Our defence stayed strong throughout the match, consistently turning over the ball and driving towards the opposition's goal. During the first quarter of the match, we had multiple shots on goal from E Browne and L Parkin. During the second half of the match, the ball was passed from L Parkin to I Wood to E Browne, with the latter going on to score leaving the match tied at 1-1. After some fantastic game play and teamwork, R Allen received Player of the Match, G Weedon receiving Players’ Player, and H Parsons and S Goggins receiving Coach's Player. After a fun and exciting match, we had dinner at the hockey club, and then headed back to the hostel for our final night. It was a great end to our trip, and everyone came away feeling extremely proud.
On our final day of the trip, we went to a cheese and clog factory called Clara Maria Farm, where we were taught how to make a clog by Eve and the intricacies that go into it. This was followed by learning how to make cheese and all the possible flavours it can come in. We were lucky enough to be able to purchase plenty of different cheeses and visit some of the cows that provide the milk on the farm. After leaving the factory, we had a team meeting where G Bradbury received Players’ Player of the tour (voted for by the girls), and L Parkin receiving Coach's Player of the week. We then transferred to the airport after a fun filled trip of hockey and exploring.
All of the girls are extremely grateful to Mrs Lovelock and Miss James for organising this fantastic trip and giving up their half term break to take us all. It was a brilliant experience and we have made some fantastic lifelong memories.
Report: R Allen, Girls' Sports Captain
Coaches: Mrs C Lovelock & Miss A James
