109
Bo r l a s i a n 2 0 1 3
Sport
Hockey
U12 Boys’ Hockey
Before school even started, Borlase offered us a flavour of
what hockey would be like, with an optional 2 day hockey
camp in the summer holidays.
We had some budding new talent emerging from very
early on; the likes of Toby Hill, Elliot Hobbs, Max Ellis (GK),
and Harry Yeomans (GK) and many more players who
have improved rapidly. Some have started from scratch
and have gone on to become solid members of the teams
within the course of 2 terms.
By the end of the season, Borlase had a very impressive
4 teams (A,B,C and D) which not only shows the serious
focus on hockey at Borlase, but also the enjoyment of
the players. Within those 40 players or so, we were lucky
enough to have fresh new talent, as well as some more
experienced players, 4 of which (Julian Whitaker, Tom
Jackson, Tom Sheldon and Will Aldiss) were selected for
the Bucks U13 squad.
Some of the players were given the chance to play Year
8 hockey as well, which brought on our skills massively
and we want to thank the Year 8 players for being so
welcoming to us.
All of our teams were very positive whether we won or lost.
We had a great team spirit that stayed with us throughout
the season. Also, we were very coachable as a squad and
we listened to the coaches’ advice well.
This exciting year was finished off with an end of season
barbeque with food and hockey (two of my favourite
things) which was a great evening – well earned after all
the hard work put in throughout the season by the players,
the coaches and the supporters.
None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for our
brilliant coaching staff: Mr. Chappell, Mr Irving and Olly
Keenan.
Tom Sheldon Y7
U16 Boys’ Hockey
At the beginning of the year the general feeling from
both the boys and coaches was that we were not destined
to achieve greatness this year; I believe we proved both
ourselves and everyone else wrong.
The first major competition for the season was the
regional indoor heats at Whitgift School. I think it can be
said that none of the boys had played indoor more than
occasionally and so we began to have early morning
training sessions in preparation. At the competition itself
we were not expected to qualify for the finals but were
told to finish no lower than 5
th
. We did this and more! After
a series of games we reached our final match in 3
rd
place
with a win securing a finals place. However, unfortunately
we lost 4-1, which meant we stayed in 3
rd
. There was some
fantastic individual play from Sam North and Imre Gerrits
as well as great team play throughout.
The next target for the year was the County Cup. The
tournament was held at Stowe School and would see us
face RGS, Stowe, John Hampden and Challoner’s. We won
our matches against both Stowe and John Hampden with
great performances. Then it came to RGS. In a tense match
we drew 1-1 with a superb goal from Charlie Bull and an
unlucky penalty corner early on for RGS. The final match
was against Challoner’s and we needed at least a draw to
more forward to regionals. Unfortunately the game was
lost 4-0, withmany of the senior players picking up injuries.
Although no silverware was brought home every member
of the squad, both on and off the pitch, was 100%
committed and showed incredible determination and
perseverance throughout.
Harri Ravenscroft Y11
U18 Boys’ Hockey
After another season of disappointment for the first team
last year, we started in September with a point to prove. A
large influx of year 12s brought with them plenty of talent,
resulting in a squad that was dangerous on paper. With
our goalkeepers, Haisman and Spratley, fighting for pole
position in both the starting XI, it was clear we were also
competitive.
Despite the flair of the team, in the past as a squad we
haven’t been able to compete with the physical side of the
game. However with Tom Packer setting a life time best of
20 press ups during pre season it was clear that we were
no longer going to be intimidated.
With this newfound physicality we entered our first
major tournament, the indoor competition, without really
knowing what we were capable of. After a day of some
quality indoor hockey we left the south rounds with a
silver medal and a ticket to the national finals in January.
The next month consisted of early morning sessions and
late Friday nights as we trained in pretty much every
