This week saw the start of the netball season which was very exciting for all the girls and staff. Playing a block against Hazelwood with some extra matches against St Ronan’s for the seniors, the girls were exposed to a full afternoon of netball.
The seniors looked incredibly smart in their new dresses and there was a real buzz on the courts here at Holmewood with 90 girls playing their first netball of the season.
U13A Netball
The team began the afternoon against Hazelwood, quickly settling into a strong rhythm with fluid passing and confident movement around the court. Our defence worked tirelessly to clear the ball from the opposition’s circle, with Bella marking her opponent closely and making scoring opportunities hard to come by. Esperanza impressed in her first appearance for the A team, making several valuable interceptions, while Tilly was alert to every loose ball. With a late change to the line-up, Millie B stepped in at centre and performed brilliantly.
In attack, Iris worked hard to supply shooters Trixie and Megan, who both converted some excellent chances. Despite dominating possession and creating multiple phases of play, we struggled to turn all our opportunities into goals and were narrowly defeated 9–7. Player of the Match was Millie.
After a brief break, the girls faced St Ronan’s, kindly lending a player to the opposition who were short. It proved to be another closely contested match, decided by a superb long-range shot from Megan in the final moments, securing an 8–7 victory. Player of the Match was Trixie.
Overall, it was a fantastic afternoon of netball and a promising start to the season. Well done to all the girls — we look forward to building on this performance against Cumnor House next week. SP
U13B Netball
The U13B team got their season off to a fantastic start in a triangular tournament against Hazelwood and Saint Ronan’s at home. Hazelwood provided a stern test in the first game of the season, and the game was tight throughout. Ultimately Holmewood kept their composure down the stretch with some pinpoint shooting and won 9-7 with Charlotte Hargreaves being awarded girl of the game by the opposition. The second match against Saint Ronan’s was another competitive fixture and played in a fair and friendly manner. Holmewood again proved to be successful winning the game 7-4 with Sofia Holt being awarded girl of the game by the opposition. All the girls were incredibly encouraging and sporting creating a great atmosphere to play netball in. AF
U12A Netball
We played our first matches of the season at home first against Hazelwood. Some early teething problems with footwork and throw away passing gave Hazelwood the advantage and they scored taking a half time lead 5 7. However we then settled with more controlled play and found a steady rhythm. Great linkage through the court and tighter and more determined play in defence. Good shooting from Lavinia, Pippa and Ffion today gave us the edge and the team should be pleased with the win. St Ronans were short of players and the girls kindly rotated to make it 6 aside. Similarly, it was the movement and passing into space using the free player and working the circle to great effect. Well done to Rebecca, Antonia and Ottilie in defence. Shekinah and Clemmie were pivotal in supplying good feeds and accurate shooting again gave us the lead. POM Lavinia and Shekinah. SE
U12B Netball
This strong squad of 9 girls were very understanding when St Ronans arrived with 5 players and Holmewood very kindly rotated to make 2 full teams every quarter. A positive first half with good movement forward to the ball and powerful passing finding the shooters under the post. Accurate finishing from Amaia and Nilaya and play end to end. Our advantage slightly tailed off when the court became crowded, and it became more difficult to find the space. However, pleasing to see how quickly our new players to the game are learning and how the team kept going every quarter. POM Bo and Maya. SE
U11A Netball
A brilliant start to the season with a confident 7–3 win against Hazelwood. The girls worked hard, passed well, and showed great teamwork throughout. Strong shooting and solid defence made the difference—well done to the whole team!
U11C
A great start to the netball season. In the first half we were 3-0 up. Some great passing and goals from Darcy, Florence, and Matilda. All the girls worked really well and were getting stronger with their passing throughout the game. Hazelwood came back stronger in the second half scoring 6 goals and we managed to sneak one more in. Great first game girls, sadly we didn’t win this one, but they should all be very proud of themselves. Shout out to Tamzin who was very kind and helped Hazelwood out when one of their players got injured. Girl of the game was Anne, which was well deserved as she didn’t stop running the whole game. Well done, Girls. EB
U10A Netball
U10’s had their first netball match of the season against Hazelwood.
A’s had a tough game, but with some promising passages of play. Defence worked solidly throughout, turning over the ball multiple times. Rosie at GK (was awarded POM), Ottlie and Tolu made some excellent interceptions. Cecilia at C worked solidly to get the ball down the court, but we struggled against the Hazelwood defence who managed to keep the ball out of our D.
On the occasions we did manage to feed the ball in, we took successful shots at goal. All made massive progress throughout the match and learned a lot going into the season.
U10B Netball
The Under 10Bs had an excellent first match of the season, winning 7-3 in the sunshine against Hazelwood. A special mention should go to ‘girl of the game’ Alana for her excellent shooting and her 5 goals. All of the girls showed fantastic commitment throughout the afternoon and the improvement from the start of the game to its finish was commendable.
U10C Netball
What an exciting first netball match of the season for the U10Cs! The girls proved themselves to be a supportive and co-operative team. They knew their positions well and it was positive to hear them calling for the ball effectively and trying to use their skills learnt in training. By half-time Hazelwood were winning 4-0, but the girls came back fighting and GS Sophie scored 3 goals in the second half! They settled into the game, considering spacing and the pace quickened. There was fantastic teamwork throughout and some great defending in the second half. Well done to Zara for winning girl of the game! Final score was 4-3 to Hazelwood! LM
Under 9 Netball
The Under 9 girls played at The Mead this week and put on a fine display. The teams all played 3 quarters of a match and were rotated to play well matched games. The movement of the ball down the court improved as the afternoon progressed and all of the teams had a lot of ball play. We did struggle to score the goals once again, but hopefully this will come with practise and will be one skill we will be working on in training next week. SP
Under 8 Netball
The U8’s had their first netball matches of the season. A cold and drizzly afternoon at home, all girls worked hard to pass and move down the court as well as defend by marking their designated opponent from The Mead. Great sportsmanship from all the girls that swapped in to play for the opposition as they didn’t have enough players. KB
