The U12A netball team went to Croydon high to compete in the Preliminary rounds of the Surrey tournament. As the previous time it was postponed due to frozen courts, everyone was ready and excited to play. One of our matches was against Croydon high- the hosting school. At half time we were losing 1-5 and were all worried that this loss may cost us the tournament. So, we rolled up our sleeves and managed to pull it back to a 5-5 draw at the end.

In the end, it came down to our last match against St John’ School to determine whether we got through to the next round. Before the match started, we huddled together and on the count of three we lifted our arms in the air and shouted WIMBLEDON! No matter the weather, no matter how cold and numb our fingers were, we all gave it our best and fought for first place. If they were leading by one goal, we pushed ourselves to the highest ability and won the goal back. It got nerve wracking towards the end, but this was our last chance to fight for victory. When the whistle was blown to signal the end of the match, waves of joy hit us when we realized we won 9-7.

In the end, we one four matches and drew one – we finished first in our group!

The player of the tournament was Elise L whose shooting was amazing throughout the day despite the match pressure. Elises’ movement on the court was exceptional, no matter the position she was playing. She moved in front of the player meaning that the defender couldn’t intercept the ball.

A big thank you to our coaches, Miss Cutteridge and Miss Fowler for bringing us to this tournament and coaching us all the way until we left with first place. Altogether, the team played really well and were all pleased with how we played together.

By Maya F and Zara N