General News
Hockey Under 16 Boys Runners Up at National Finals
🥈 Hockey Under 16 Boys Finish Runners-Up at National Finals (Tier 3)🥈
The Boys U16 Hockey team concluded an exceptional 2023-24 season with a remarkable achievement earlier this week, securing second place in the England Hockey National Finals (Tier 3). This historic accomplishment marks the highest ranking ever achieved by any team in Wrekin College history.
Their journey began with a meeting in September to set ambitious goals for the year, despite the hockey term not starting until January. After dominating the Shropshire Qualifying round with four wins and a draw, they advanced to the Midlands finals.
Midlands Finals soon came around on the final Wednesday of February and the boys knew they had a tough task ahead. They won their first game 4-0 and their second game 3-1 before coming up against a tough Queen Mary’s Grammar School side. This game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Queen Mary’s had also won their first two games and had a superior goal difference of four over Wrekin, meaning we needed to score six without reply and hope QMGS only won 1-0 in the final group game
The Wrekin boys put it all out on the line and went into ultra-attack mode. Captain Herbie, who has recently made his England Under 16 Boys debut, stepped up and scored all six goals in an outstanding performance, and this was enough to take Wrekin through to the final.
Awaiting them was a very strong Newcastle-Under-Lyme team who had won all of their games in the other group. In the first half Wrekin were the aggressors and really took the game to them. Wrekin had a number of goal-scoring opportunities including three penalty corners but they just couldn’t find the net. Half-time came around and the coaching staff left the players to it – the boys knew what was needed, they huddled up and gave each other the final words of inspiration before taking the field for the second half.
NULS came out of the blocks faster than Wrekin on this occasion and had 3-4 opportunities of their own. Fortunately for Wrekin James deployed his man-marking job well and Will gave a tackling masterclass from centre back. With seven minutes to go Wrekin regained momentum and had a number of chances saved by the goalkeeper, and the game ended 0-0.
In the shootout up stepped goalkeeper Matt, fresh from a penalty stroke save earlier in the tournament. Two fantastic saves from him gave Wrekin the win, and history was made – this was the first boys team in Wrekin history to win the Midlands finals and progress to the Nationals!
Just over two weeks later the National Finals were due to take place at the Nottingham Hockey Centre. They travelled up the night before so they could have a meal together and get a good nights sleep, all whilst further bonding the team.
The morning of the finals came and Wrekin used their warm-up slot before fulfilling their photography commitments. The coaches made their final speeches and our Head of Athletic Development got the boys physically ready through taping, massages and a thorough warm-up.
In the first game Wrekin won 3-1 against a tricky opponent, giving the boys confidence of progression. In the second game Wrekin faced Sandbach, who were by far the most difficult team they’d faced to date. This match ended in a 1-1 draw, blowing the group wide open with three teams now able to qualify for the final, yet Wrekin were in the driving seat.
A 2-0 win in the final group game put Wrekin through to the final – they would now play against St Edmund’s School for the National title.
Wrekin came out on fire and were asking questions of the opposition defence early doors however an exceptional aerial threat caught Wrekin off guard, which gave St Edmund’s the chance to win two penalty corners, which were both converted. Wrekin were awarded a penalty stroke, but the goalkeeper made an incredible save to keep Wrekin out
2-0 down at half time Wrekin continued to believe they could do it, recognising that both goals had come against the run of play. Wrekin continued to pile on the pressure and had two penalty corner drag flicks cleared out of the top corners. The aerial threat hurt Wrekin again as they were caught on the counter attack, 3-0 down and then four following a penalty stroke. With the last touch of the game Wrekin scored with a fantastic penalty corner and showed on a different day the outcomes could have been very different.
Despite the final outcome, the team’s dedication and resilience were evident throughout, earning them the title of the most successful hockey team in Wrekin College history. The boys’ efforts were celebrated with heartfelt gratitude, as they bid farewell to Mr. Williams, who received a framed team photo as a token of appreciation.
Congratulations to the team on their remarkable achievement, they gave it everything they had and managed to take claim to second place in the country, an incredible achievement which makes them the most successful hockey team in Wrekin College history.
