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U16 boys enter EH Indoor Competition.
Mike Rushmere15 Dec 2014 - 12:13
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Sunday 14th Dec saw Thirsk enter an experimental boys’ team into the Northern round of the England Hockey U16 Boys’ Indoor Cup.
Left to right: Sam, Will W., Oliver, James, Paddy, Ben
Front: Will M. (GK and capt)
With a squad depleted by a sickness bug that affected player availability at the very last moment, the remaining lads, who all play for a variety of Thirsk’s junior and senior teams, turned up full of enthusiasm, even though they had, little or in many cases, no previous experience of Indoor Hockey.
Playing against 7 other teams, most of whom had senior U16 players, from across Yorkshire, Merseyside and Lancashire, Thirsk watched the first match of the competition to get a feel for the pace and dynamic nature of indoor hockey.
Thirsk’s first match again Preston, was a pretty good affair considering the depth of indoor experience of the opposition. Although the final score was 5-0 in Preston’s favour, Thirsk created some good chances and manufactured some good goal-scoring opportunities. Paddy, Ben, Oliver and Sam consistently produced some great block tackles which made it much harder for Preston to get any traction within the Thirsk half.
The second match against a combined experienced Bradford/Hull team saw some great work in the attacking D with Will and James’ persistence within the Bradford half, enabling Paddy to secure a goal for Thirsk. Unfortunately, James had to hobble off due to an injury to the knee, which resulted in Thirsk losing momentum and the final score being 9-1 to Bradford. Will’s work ethic to get back and cover in goal helped the defenders counter many threats, and Ben’s goal line clearance won applause and was a good example of never giving up, even when the ball looks like it is going to go in. Again the lads left the pitch with their heads held high and still enjoying the thrill of the indoor game. Oliver’s stick control was very impressive and he was a key driver for Thirsk using the side boards to get some good balls up to James, Will and Ben.
The last pool game was against a senior Ben Rhydding squad who had enough subs to form another team plus still have spares. Thirsk contained Ben Rhydding in the early stages, but Ben took a nasty blow to his hand which, despite wearing a protective glove, resulted in him being unable to play from that point onwards and having to make a post-tournament trip to A&E. Sam, although the youngest and smallest when compared to the Ben Rhydding players, refused to be barged off the ball and kept a cool head to open up play to the Thirsk forwards. The end result of 10-1 hid the very good team-work and play of the Thirsk lads, which resulted in Paddy and Will W working the ball to enable James to find the net. Will M’s saves in goal were amazing and, from this point onwards, and for subsequent matches, he was regularly receiving applause from the parents of opposition teams following some breath-taking saves.
With the loss of 3 games, it was off to the 7th and 8th position play-offs scheduled for 1 hour later. The lads were given the opportunity to conceded the play-off match and thus get home earlier, but to their credit, and as an indicator of how much they were really into taking part in their first indoor experience, all supported Paddy’s view that they be allowed to hang around for another hour in order to take part in the 7th and 8th fixture.
The final match, the 7th and 8th fixture, was against a very physical and taller Wakefield team and resulted in a 9-0 loss. With injured players and exhaustion finally overcoming enthusiasm, along with an issue with a perceived misaligned goal, it was Will M’s incredible goal-keeping that kept the score to 9.
Although, the Thirsk lads did not secure a win during the day, they earned the respect of their opponents by giving a very good performance. A number of coaches made a point of commenting afterwards, that for a mainly U14 team, who had not played Indoor before, they epitomised what this type of tournament was about. Not once did they give up and they played each match at a 100% commitment rate to the final whistle.
When asked if they would like to have another go at Indoor Hockey again, the team response seemed to be very positive all around, so hopefully, this group of boys’ efforts today, may indeed sow the seeds for serious consideration to Thirsk entering junior teams in future indoor competitions.
A big thank you to all the Thirsk parents who cheered and supported all day and made what on paper would be a very long-day, in a crowded venue, a very positive experience, despite the results not being in Thirsk’s favour.
Players’ player went overwhelmingly to a truly exhausted goalkeeper, and team-captain, Will M.
Each player could have earned the Manager’s Player medal for their top-class efforts and commitment, but today, it was given to Paddy who played throughout while suffering from a cold, and stepped forward, when asked to play in an attacking role for the last 2 matches; a job he did very well indeed!
Well done lads; you represented your club well today, earned the respect and admiration of other teams, and have hopefully formed a vanguard for future junior indoor hockey participation at Thirsk.
Front: Will M. (GK and capt)
With a squad depleted by a sickness bug that affected player availability at the very last moment, the remaining lads, who all play for a variety of Thirsk’s junior and senior teams, turned up full of enthusiasm, even though they had, little or in many cases, no previous experience of Indoor Hockey.
Playing against 7 other teams, most of whom had senior U16 players, from across Yorkshire, Merseyside and Lancashire, Thirsk watched the first match of the competition to get a feel for the pace and dynamic nature of indoor hockey.
Thirsk’s first match again Preston, was a pretty good affair considering the depth of indoor experience of the opposition. Although the final score was 5-0 in Preston’s favour, Thirsk created some good chances and manufactured some good goal-scoring opportunities. Paddy, Ben, Oliver and Sam consistently produced some great block tackles which made it much harder for Preston to get any traction within the Thirsk half.
The second match against a combined experienced Bradford/Hull team saw some great work in the attacking D with Will and James’ persistence within the Bradford half, enabling Paddy to secure a goal for Thirsk. Unfortunately, James had to hobble off due to an injury to the knee, which resulted in Thirsk losing momentum and the final score being 9-1 to Bradford. Will’s work ethic to get back and cover in goal helped the defenders counter many threats, and Ben’s goal line clearance won applause and was a good example of never giving up, even when the ball looks like it is going to go in. Again the lads left the pitch with their heads held high and still enjoying the thrill of the indoor game. Oliver’s stick control was very impressive and he was a key driver for Thirsk using the side boards to get some good balls up to James, Will and Ben.
The last pool game was against a senior Ben Rhydding squad who had enough subs to form another team plus still have spares. Thirsk contained Ben Rhydding in the early stages, but Ben took a nasty blow to his hand which, despite wearing a protective glove, resulted in him being unable to play from that point onwards and having to make a post-tournament trip to A&E. Sam, although the youngest and smallest when compared to the Ben Rhydding players, refused to be barged off the ball and kept a cool head to open up play to the Thirsk forwards. The end result of 10-1 hid the very good team-work and play of the Thirsk lads, which resulted in Paddy and Will W working the ball to enable James to find the net. Will M’s saves in goal were amazing and, from this point onwards, and for subsequent matches, he was regularly receiving applause from the parents of opposition teams following some breath-taking saves.
With the loss of 3 games, it was off to the 7th and 8th position play-offs scheduled for 1 hour later. The lads were given the opportunity to conceded the play-off match and thus get home earlier, but to their credit, and as an indicator of how much they were really into taking part in their first indoor experience, all supported Paddy’s view that they be allowed to hang around for another hour in order to take part in the 7th and 8th fixture.
The final match, the 7th and 8th fixture, was against a very physical and taller Wakefield team and resulted in a 9-0 loss. With injured players and exhaustion finally overcoming enthusiasm, along with an issue with a perceived misaligned goal, it was Will M’s incredible goal-keeping that kept the score to 9.
Although, the Thirsk lads did not secure a win during the day, they earned the respect of their opponents by giving a very good performance. A number of coaches made a point of commenting afterwards, that for a mainly U14 team, who had not played Indoor before, they epitomised what this type of tournament was about. Not once did they give up and they played each match at a 100% commitment rate to the final whistle.
When asked if they would like to have another go at Indoor Hockey again, the team response seemed to be very positive all around, so hopefully, this group of boys’ efforts today, may indeed sow the seeds for serious consideration to Thirsk entering junior teams in future indoor competitions.
A big thank you to all the Thirsk parents who cheered and supported all day and made what on paper would be a very long-day, in a crowded venue, a very positive experience, despite the results not being in Thirsk’s favour.
Players’ player went overwhelmingly to a truly exhausted goalkeeper, and team-captain, Will M.
Each player could have earned the Manager’s Player medal for their top-class efforts and commitment, but today, it was given to Paddy who played throughout while suffering from a cold, and stepped forward, when asked to play in an attacking role for the last 2 matches; a job he did very well indeed!
Well done lads; you represented your club well today, earned the respect and admiration of other teams, and have hopefully formed a vanguard for future junior indoor hockey participation at Thirsk.
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