London Gram Slam Indoor Medals for SHC Juniors
By Surbiton HC
Five Surbiton Junior sides played in the London Grand Slam Indoor event at the K2 Arena in Crawley over the weekend, with all five teams bringing home medals from the event!
GU12: The Girls U12 came third following seven hard fought round robin matches, with four wins, two draws and one defeat. It was a fantastic team effort from the girls who played some exciting attacking hockey, scoring 14 goals and conceding only four, with Emily named as Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
BU12: The Boys U12 achieved a silver medal after four wins, a draw and two losses. A huge shout out must go to Amelia who appeared as a guest player for the boys to ensure a full team could be fielded… in the words of coaches Aiden and Jemma, “She was absolutely amazing!”. Goalkeeper Will was also in fine form and played a key role in the team’s success on the day.
GU14: It was end-to-end stuff from the Girls U14s. Early wins against OCs and Bucks Buccaneers perhaps allowed the players to drop their guards as they were caught on the hop by Sevenoaks. A win against Canterbury, followed by a loss to Trojans and a draw against Hertford, put the girls into the bronze medal match and facing previous conquerors Trojans. Seeking revenge, Flo's last gasp goal secured the podium place in their best performance of the tournament. All of the players were great, but a special well done to Emily for the GK of the tournament award.
GU16: Late team dropouts meant that the Girls U16s were in a double round robin with EGs, Teddington and OCs. A fantastic performance in their final game against OCs put the girls into the final where they were unable to repeat their heroics against a strong East Grinstead side, earning a well-deserved silver medal. All of the players made valuable contributions, but the undoubted highlight was Tileena's wonder goal involving a reverse spin and a self-pass and receipt from the wall, which no-one (including Tileena!), could explain.
GU18: The Girls U18s secured a silver medal, losing out on the trophy to East Grinstead by a single goal on goal difference. The competition format was a double round robin, and a draw and win against East Grinstead, and a win and a loss against Sevenoaks left the girls on +3, but EG pipped them at the post following a 4-0 victory in their final match.
Performance Director Frankie Bryant said, “Well done to all our teams on playing some great indoor hockey across the weekend, and thanks to the parents who came along to Crawley to support. It was great to see the teamwork and skills on display and we’re already looking forward to some more Indoor Hockey UK events later in the season.”
With thanks to the coaches and parents for their help putting together tournament summaries. Look out for photos of the event on social media @surbitonhc and in this week's Junior Newsletter!