The field hockey team, though having faced a difficult season, performed impressively on the field. Despite facing girls up to four years older than some of the team and having many of the team members being new to the sport, the girls have improved drastically over the course of the season, and all of the girls have expressed their happiness with the way that the team has performed.
Coach Julia Harrison stated, “I think that we’ve improved greatly, in that we’ve had a whole new flock of players which has been really nice to see, a strong mix between seventh and eighth grade as well. We’ve had players from all sorts of levels that have played for a couple of years and brand new players.”
A particular highlight for the team was the game at Aldenham school, on October 18, where the team scored their first goal of the season which was scored by Maddie Wilkin. The final score of that game was 4-1 against to Aldenham.
The team of 16 girls, ages 12 and 13, will play a total of nine games this season, which is an increase in the number of games compared to last season. The field hockey team played mostly against British schools, because many local international schools like ACS Egham do not offer field hockey as a sport.
Seventh grader Maddie Wilkin said, “We have improved on our attacking skills, and we really understand the sport more. Because at the beginning of the season, most of us didn’t really know much about field hockey and most of the players were new, but we’ve learned a lot throughout the season.”
Though not having won a game, the field hockey team has improved drastically from each game, and has not lost its spirit. Coach Harrison said, “There is a good sense of communication on the team which was nice to see, and everyone gets along on the pitch and off of it. Even if we haven’t won a game, everyone is still in high spirits.”
Through good teamwork and hard work, the team has managed to take on girls of more experience and an older age. They have come from being a team of beginners who knew hardly anything about field hockey, to a team that works together to improve their skills and mindset.
