Under 14 Team Jets perform strongly at Seeding

Under 14 Team Jets travelled away to seeding this weekend to play 4 other teams in Group B with the aim of finishing 1st or 2nd in the group to secure a place in Division One of the U14 Regional League for the rest of the season.
 
The team took to the court to play their first game against a physical Wimbourne. A little nervous the girls had to work hard to score their first goal as Wimbourne, who had first centre, started strongly. GK Katie Henman became more confident as the game went on as the defence worked to push out their tall shooters. Despite some great tips they struggled to get the ball effectively up to the attack with nerves leaving them hesitant with their passing. 2nd half changes brought on WD Erin McAllister who marked tightly denying her player opportunities to feed. Taylor-Mai Dickson also came in at WA and made a huge impact in the Jets attack creating greater number of options and fantastic feeds. This allowed GS Eva-Raine Clark, who also came on for the 2nd half, great chances to shoot with her achieving a 100% shooting record which helped Jets to achieve a half score, though they lost 19 v 10 overall.
 
After a re-group and a good analysis of the game the team were feeling positive and took to the court again to play Saints Rockets. However it was a slow start once again as top age group Saints took a strong lead and pushed ahead leading 11 v 4 at half time. Jets however never gave up and after struggling to feed the circle suddenly found options with WA Maddie Gott working hard to feed her shooters. Centre Chloe Lagadu helped bring Jets into the game with numerous interceptions and pressuring in the centre court. With great shooting stats Jets won the 2nd half 6 v 4 forcing errors from Saints including stopping centre passes being received. Overall Saints won 15 v 10 with Jets again gaining a point for a half score.
 
With some changes within the versatile squad to counteract another tall team, Jets hit the ground running taking an early lead against Lovell Titan Warriors, with GD Cerys O’Connell and GK Helen Blackstone disrupting the flow of play with countless tips and interceptions. The shooters only missed 2 goals but Jets could have taken a stronger lead had they taken all their chances with decision making a big part of the team talk at half time as they were 7 v 9 down. With an unchanged side returning to court, Jets were determined to get the win they deserved, however Saints utilised their very tall GS to great effect and won 17 v 11.
 
Titans were the opposition for the 4th game and their tall GD and GK made feeding the shooters very hard. The players however displayed an amazing level of team spirit and determination. Tracking her player tightly WD Maddy Cameron pressured her player to force errors and also worked hard to transition the ball from defence to attack with great effect. GS Maddie Reynolds, who had a good consistent shooting record all day, again worked hard to get free with GA Eva-Raine Clark pushing out her defender to create space for her shooting partner. With one goal in it at half time Jets were on a high. Centre Taylor-Mai controlled the speed of the game effectively and with great movement off the ball WA Maddie Gott was able to get the ball to circle edge and accurately feed her shooters to allow Jets to draw level. It was Titans though who scored the final goal of the game to win 12 v 11. An elated Jets had shown such fantastic development during the day and such fight in the last game that it almost felt like a win for the youngest side in the competition.
 
After the final game coach Taryn Perkins reflected on a great day of development “I am so proud of the players today who have shown great maturity and team spirit, supporting each other through some tough physical games. Our scorelines today didn’t reflect the competitiveness of the matches on court so myself and Ella are really proud that they pushed teams in every game and secured bonus points for half scores which wasn’t the case for all the teams, even some who have gained a place in Division One. After the games today and positive feedback from other coaches we are really excited to continue working with the girls for the season ahead.”

Squad Travelling:
 
Cerys O’Connell (co-captain)
Chloe Lagadu
Erin McAllister
Eva-Raine Clark
Helen Blackstone
Katie Henman
Maddy Cameron
Maddie Gott
Maddie Reynolds (co-captain)
Taylor-Mai Dickson
 
Coaches: Taryn Perkins and Ella Vieira
Umpire: Emma Wilton
Scorer: Megan Hamilton
 
Team Jets are proudly sponsored by Dominion, One Foundation and Polar Capital.