On Friday 25th November Buckland entered two teams into the Spelthorne Primary schools Hockey tournament.
For several of the children taking part, they had only been playing hockey a matter of weeks and for some of them it was their first time representing the school.
The teams took part in separate tournaments on the day, one team taking part in the Elite competition and the second taking part in the Aspire tournament.
The Elite team played 6 matches, starting with a tricky first match against Hawkedale who are proving themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in numerous sporting competitions. Our second fixture was against a very talented Laleham side who we knew had several experienced hockey players in their team.
After loosing the opening two games, we finally got a win under the belt against Clarendon, beating them 2 – 0. That was quickly followed by a hard-fought win against Riverbridge, coming from behind to win 3 – 2. Our penultimate match was against St Nicks, who were on similar points to us. This effectively became the bronze medal match. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, losing 2 – 1. We finished the tournament off with another 2 – 0 win against St Michaels. Leaving us 4th overall, just outside the medals.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, the aspire team, were competing in their own tournament. Taking on the eventual runners up in their opening match, losing 3 – 0. In their second match the children came up against Laleham’s second team, although we lost 2 – 1 the children scored their first goal of the tournament.
In their third game they got their one and only win, beating clarendon 2 – 0. They were definitely growing into the tournament and developing as a team. Next up was a tough Hawkedale team, losing 2 – 0 which was quickly followed by a match against the eventual winners, Springfield, losing 5 – 0. Our final match was against St Nicks, and although the children have lots of possession, we just couldn’t get it over the line, eventually losing 1 – 0.
Both teams performed amazingly. Every single child involved deserves applause as they represented the school to their upmost best. Yes, we didn’t win, but the children played their socks off and I am proud of every single one of them.
I think its going to be a good year of sport at Buckland this year!