Page 98 - HMS 2020

Sport
Football
Michaelmas would prove to be a ground breaking term in the history of Heath Mount sport. Not only did every single boy in Years 3-8 represent the school on numerous occasions, but for the first time ever we had girls playing in matches, too. There has been great buzz and enthusiasm around the development of girls’ football with a well-attended girls’ football club for Years 5-8 while the Year 3 girls had the privilege of being the first year group to have a competitive set of football matches which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Heath Mount’s annual Primary School Football Festival was again a huge success. Twelve teams participated, playing 24 matches in a round-robin event. We were pleased to welcome children, staff and supporters from Abel Smith School, Bengeo Primary School and Morgan’s Primary School.
Our football captain, Cashel C, led by example in what was a challenging but rewarding season for our 1st IX. The side continued to develop and there were notable performances against Aldenham and Berkhamsted as they began to get more of the results their performances deserved.
Our Wednesday fixtures began with well competed matches against Beechwood Park and the Haileybury 6-a-side tournament for our select U11 group. What was evident straight away was that our philosophy of trying to play passing football with everyone involved was being carried into matches after working hard in games lessons. The selected U11 group performed well at the Haileybury tournament, eventually finishing 3rd in what was to become an exciting and often nail biting season for them. At the annual ISFA regional tournament they really started to believe how good of a side they were, playing controlled football with a fantastic team ethic. Unfortunately they missed out on reaching the semi-finals by one goal, however this would prove to be a real turning point in their season. The belief from this tournament lead to excellent victories and performances, most notably against Westbrook Hay and St Martins.
In the Lower School, excitement was sky high as our first fixtures began; with pupils in Year 3 representing the school for the first time. Our focus in the Lower School is always on participation and development and we were so proud of the pupils’ journey from the beginning of the season to the end; witnessing great phases
of play, successful passing and goal-scoring in the final matches. They approached their matches with admirable dedication. Many of our Year 3 pupils went on to play in matches
against boys a year older than them and performed well, showing the potential within the group
when focussed on a collective goal. Joe Elliott
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