Monday 11 March 2013 Three netball teams from The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) are putting the finishing touches to their game plans before the finals of a prestigious national competition this weekend. The England Netball National Schools Championship has competitions for the U14, U16 and U19 age groups. GSAL entered a team in all three categories and, in a first for the school, all three have made it through to the finals. The girls are rising to the challenge set last year, when the school’s U14 and U16 teams played in the finals of the competition and the U16 team claimed the trophy. The team’s success has earned them a nomination for the Leeds Sports Awards in the Young Achievers (Under 18) category, which are due to be announced this week. All three teams have made strong progress through the early rounds of the national schools championship. At the semi-finals in February the U14 and U19 were undefeated in all their games, while the U16 only dropped a single game on their way to a place in the national final. PE teacher Kate Nash coaches the U16 team. She said: “They’ve been amazing and so dedicated in training. Although they are drawn from two different year groups, they’ve gelled as a team and shown exceptional maturity in play. They have exceeded my expectations and are living up to the example set by last year’s winning team.” Yorkshire Jets player coach Alex Kirk works with all three teams and is the lead coach for the U14 team. Alex said: “The finals places are well deserved by all three teams – they have worked really hard on their fitness as well as ball skills and tactical work.” The England Netball National Schools Championship finals take place in Basildon on Saturday. Pictured above are l-r team captains Libby Ogbonson U16, Hattie Grant U19 and Louise Marsden U14; below all three teams l-r U16, U19 and U14 General Senior School Sixth Form News
