Woodbridge U19 Netballers Compete in County Round of National Schools Competition 2024
Last Saturday, the U19 Netballers competed in the County round of the National Schools competition at a very chilly Rushmere. With the top two teams gaining a place to represent Suffolk at the Regionals in February, it was all to play for, and the girls were up for it as Miss Sanders, Head of Netball reports.
We had an amazingly strong start in our first game against Culford, where we came away with a 20-2 win. The shots were consistently converted into goals, interceptions were made and effectively used, and we gelled together perfectly as a team.
A positive start which we needed in preparation for our next match against Ipswich School. It was all to play for as we had beaten them in the previous round, but knew they wanted to win this time. The game was even at the start, but then unfortunately pressure kicked in and we threw the ball away mid-court and struggled to convert our goals. Our heads went down which affected our performance, and we let them run away with a win (9-6). Not what we wanted, so we knew we had to win our other matches.
St Jo’s were next, and the team managed to compose themselves and get back into the rhythm. Another superb performance resulting in a 17-5 win for us, lifting our spirits up in preparation for our next tough match against Finborough.
They were definitely in it to win it, with a strong and physical team, and they did not take any prisoners. Again, we let our opposition get the better of us and we fell back into our default mode of heads downs, running away from the ball and losing confidence. Unfortunately, we let them run wild and they came away with a 16-10 win.
At this point, we knew the chances of us making Regionals were slim, so we were deflated going into our last game against Fram, but we were not going to let them win. Something clicked in the first few minutes of the game, and we were on fire again! Goals were again being consistently converted, interceptions were made, and our defence dominated in the opposition’s shooting circle. We ended the morning on a high with an 11-5 win.
Well done to all the girls (especially as after the Ipswich game we went down to just eight players, as some left to join Drama rehearsals), everyone put up such a good fight and should be so proud of how they conducted themselves, both on and off the court, I couldn’t be prouder of you all!
Thank you also to all the spectators who supported us from the sidelines – you were all amazing! We wait now to hear if we have been drawn out of a hat as a ‘wildcard’ for the Regionals! We are keeping our fingers crossed!
