[A] history making day in Sedbergh Girls Sport with the 1st VII qualifying for National Netball Finals for the first time in Sedbergh history.
With each match only 7 minutes long, the pressure was on to prove ourselves and make the most of every second. The team have worked hard and dedicated hours to training as well as focusing on strength and conditioning; it’s fair to say that their hard work has certainly paid off.
Our duo of Georgia Turner and Amy Lewin who have played together since Year 5 were up and out in the early hours practicing shooting before the matches. During the qualifiers their telepathy and astounding accuracy secured the victories proving that effort, skill and teamwork are the necessary components for success.
Rosie Herman at WA delivered feeds into the circle that were worthy of an international call up finding space and showing the flair of a super league centre court player. Julia Haywood, who received her Netball Colours afterwards, was the centre court maestro, pounding up and down the court in attack and defence, turning ball and feeding with superb vision. Hannah Steel, returned from injury, made an exceptional contribution to the defence, solid and capable, she neutralised many attacking moves.
And finally the defensive partnership of Tabby Holdsworth and Imo Caudwell who between them thwarted some outstanding attacking moves from England internationals and NPL representatives, rebounding balls from missed shots and turning over balls that made the watching crowds gasp – a truly fantastic team who worked together and despite having no representative players in the squad showed just what teamwork can achieve if everyone works together.
A strong first half in their first match against Holy Cross fired the girls up, victory was so near yet so far after Holy Cross pushed back in the second half to win the match. Despite the loss our team rallied and returned to beat Wirral Grammar, a team who had qualified for Nationals last year and who Sedbergh have come across but not ever beaten at Regional Finals.
The results put us 2nd in our group and up against Cheadle Hulme in the semi-final. The Sedbergh girls stormed the first half, showing outstanding class and deceptive skill, and at half time were up 7-2, a good margin in a 7 minute half. The second half began with a show of nerves and hesitation, a couple of loose passes, an offside and an interception brought the score back to 7-5 with one minute to go.
The spectators were biting their nails and looking anxious, our fantastic Sedbergh parents who had travelled the length and breadth of the country to support this team were counting the goals, it looked as though the Sedbergh girls might relent but Julia Haywood slammed a ball in the defending pocket to prevent a feed into the Cheadle shooters, then the final whistle went – a 7-6 win and a first ever qualification for National Netball Finals for a Sedbergh team putting us into the top 18 schools in the country.
A truly fantastic performance from the 1st VII and truly deserving of their place at National Finals on Saturday 17th March in Hertfordshire. The National Finals are the top 18 schools in the country, with 2 qualifying from each of the 9 regions, traditionally the North West have proven to be a strong region so we look forward to performing on this national stage.
