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Town Close Under 13 Indoor Hockey Tournament

Town Close hosted their first tournament in the new Sports Hall when five teams played in an Under 13 boys Indoor Hockey Competition. The teams competing were Beeston Hall, Gresham’s, Taverham Hall, Town Close ‘A’ and Town Close ‘B’.

The competition was run on a round robin basis, with each team playing each other. Gresham’s came out on top at the end of the day, despite being held to a 3-3 draw by the Town Close B team.

A high standard of play was watched by a numerous parents and supporters and the whole occasion was a huge success.

The Town Close boys taking part on the day were:

A Team – Toby Ellingham, Dylan Simmons, Tom Lomax, Oscar Marshall (capt), Henry Crane, Cameron Greenhall and William Hunt.

B Team – Toby Ellingham, Cameron McFadyen, Alex Moody, Charlie Easter, Lewis Gooderham (capt), Oliver Cooley, Alex Levinson and Sebastian Sanders.

The full set of results was as follows:

Town Close A (3) Taverham Hall (0)

Gresham’s (3) Town Close B (3)

Beeston Hall (6) Taverham Hall (2)

Town Close A (9) Town Close B (1)

Gresham’s (4) Beeston Hall (1)

Town Close B (4) Taverham Hall (2)

Town Close A (2) Beeston Hall (3)

Gresham’s (4) Town Close A (3)

Taverham Hall (1) Gresham’s (9)

Boys' Hockey - Spring Term Report

Despite the weather it has been a very successful hockey term for the boys. Fourteen teams have played nearly 70 inter school matches and this excludes the various tournaments which teams have taken part in.

At the Junior end, the Under 9A team’s highlight was in coming second in the Annual Felsted Tournament. A very successful day was enjoyed by Town Close as the Girls won their competition.

At Colts level 26 out of the 42 matches played were won, with only 11 defeats. The strength in depth at this age group was identified by the most successful team which was the ‘E’ team, winning all four of their matches scoring 17 goals and only conceding 1. The ‘A’ team suffered from a lack of practice due to the weather, although they should be pleased with their efforts in the County Mini Hockey tournament, coming 3rd.

At the senior end of the school we fielded 4 teams. The 4th team played one game and won it 7-1. The 3rd XI, despite losing 3 out of 4 matches, lost three of them 1-0 in very tight matches. The 2nd XI had some good results against Woodbridge and Culford, but let themselves down in the last fixture against Beeston suffering a heavy defeat due to poor attitude and effort.

The 1st XI enjoyed a successful season, winning 5 out of their 7 matches. Again, the weather disrupted their season, but the highlight was certainly qualifying for the National Prep Schools Finals at Millfield School, by coming second in the Eastern Area finals.

This weekend both the senior boys and girls will be taking part in the Gresham’s Hockey Festival, where more silverware will be up for grabs!

Well done to all the children who have worked hard to make this season a success. Hopefully this time next year we will have our own Astroturf surface to practise and play on!

IAPS Under 13 Boys Regional Mini Hockey Tournament

At the recent IAPS Under 13 boys Regional Mini Hockey Tournament, Town Close played exceptionally well, qualifying for the National finals at Millfield School. In their first match against South Lee, the boys started hesitantly but soon got into their stride, scoring just before half time. Despite missing a penalty in the second half they secured a 1-0 win. In the second match, against Felsted, the team played some fine attacking hockey securing a 4-2 win. The next match, against Gresham’s, was closely fought, but Town Close edged it by two goals to one. Against Culford the team gained revenge for a defeat earlier in the season, winning 3-1. The result of the next match against Beeston Hall would decide who would be East Champions. At half time the score was 2-2, but two injuries to key players knocked Town Close out of their stride and Beeston eventually triumphed 4-2. In the last match against Barnardiston, the team looked very tired and jaded, but came away with a 2-2 draw, securing runners up position.

Squad: Toby Ellingham, Oscar Marshall (capt), Tom Lomax, Dylan Simmons, William Hunt, Henry Crane, Cameron Greenhall, Charlie Easter and Oliver Cooley.

In the National Finals the team failed to reach the same standard of play which got them there, losing their four group games: 3-1 to Parkside, 3-1 to Dean Close, 2-1 to Taunton and 3-0 to Hazlegrove. In their last match against OBH they drew 2-2 despite dominating play and then lost on penalties.

Overall the boys should be very pleased with their achievement of reaching the National Final, mixed with the thought of “What if?”

Triple Medal Success for Town Close House Girls!

The School is celebrating success in three recent hockey and netball tournaments that have brought regional and national recognition to their girls’ teams. The Under 11 netball side travelled to Roedean School in Brighton last Saturday to compete in the National Finals, having qualified earlier in the month in a regional tournament at Brandeston Hall, Framlingham.

A number of these girls, also part of the Under 11 hockey team, recently qualified for the ‘Yazoo’ National Mini-Hockey Championships at Queenswood School in Hertfordshire, having overcome Gresham’s School in the qualifying stages.

In addition to this, the Town Close Under 9 girls’ hockey team matched the success of the older age group with a fantastic day at the Mini-Hockey Tournament held at Felsted School, Essex, on 4th March. The girls won an exciting and well-fought final by a single goal against Kingshott School, Hitchin.

The Town Close boys have also played their part in this term’s sporting success. The Under 9 boys finished with the runners-up medals at the Felsted Hockey Tournament, whilst the Under 13 hockey team is due to make the long journey to Millfield School, in Somerset, to represent Norfolk in the National Finals this week.