This was an excellent day of netball for our U15a team. Competing in a tournament for U16s, with all entrants but Benenden being clubs, it set our ladies a strong challenge which they absolutely rose to.

The first game out on court saw our U15s instantly get into their flow, fluid passages of play when on the attack, with the use of well timed drives, saw the ball find its way to our shooting duo with ease. Eva and Mimi set the tone with an impressive conversion of 98%. As a team we displayed some excellent defending pressure, our strategy was to man-on to restrict option. A special mention to Willow, who completely denied her opponent the opportunity to receive the ball by applying a relentless stage 3 defending technique. The intensity of our defending pressure forced the opposition to send long and loopy balls through court, which were picked up particularly by our GK, Atifah, time and time again. This approach to the game secured our strongest win of the day, 12-1.

5 further games followed, a draw against Breakaways, a win against Hornets and then 3 losses against Magic, AP Saints and Aces. All games were highly competitive with our players demonstrating some excellent netball skills and knowledge. The losses on the whole were very close games, with our U15s losing narrowly, we secured additional points for the close goal difference which helped us to secure a place in the quarter finals.

The quarter final game was against the Beacon A team, an incredibly experienced and strong side. This didn't deter our U15s, they went into the game composed and focused. Our attacking play through court was on point but panic appeared to settle in once we were at the point of feeding the circle and needing to convert. Possession was lost and Beacons capitalised on this every time, swiftly taking ball to goal. Hight in the oppositions attacking circle unsettled our defending team as we struggled to deny the feeds into their shooters. Ultimately Beacon As took the win and it was the end of the competition for us.

I am super excited by this display of netball from our players and am looking forward to the new season next term!

Coach's Player(s) of the Tournament:

Willow - Exceptional use of all defending techniques with utter relentlessness

Atifah - Great vision and reading of the game to seize the opportunity of interception, correctly knowing when and when not to go for the intercept