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Double success as school hockey teams pitch in for national finals

Thursday 19 December 2013

WEB GSAL U14 hockey team

Hockey players representing The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) can take a well-earned break this Christmas, knowing that they have made school history by securing places in the finals of an important national competition.

Both the under 14 and under 16 teams will compete at the national finals of the England Hockey National Schools Championships for Girls – a double triumph as this is the first time that any 11-a-side hockey team from GSAL has reached the national finals in this competition.

The players have faced some stiff opposition this term in the opening rounds of the competition, starting by winning the titles of county and then north east regional champions in both age groups.

They then faced an even tougher contest in the northern regional final, where both teams finished as runners up. In order to reach the national finals they had the nerve-wracking prospect of play-off matches, in which the under 14s beat Bishop Stortford College 1-0 and the under 16s beat Trent College 3-1.

Victory in the play-offs places the teams in the top eight teams nationally in each age group, and they will battle it out for the national title at the finals between 25 and 27 February 2014 at Cannock Hockey Club.

GSAL’s head of hockey Lyndsay Bromby said: “Having coached both groups since they were aged 10 or 11, I’ve been so proud of their effort and performances throughout. The players have fully committed to all the hard work and extra sessions and really want to get out there and play.

“We pick our national teams from across two year groups and the girls mix really well and show great team spirit. They never give in – the under 16s showed great determination to pull the score back even after going 2-0 down in the regional final.”

Pictured: top – under 14 team; below – under 16 team

WEB GSAL U16 hockey team

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