Boys U14’s

Report: 18-10-2015 – Boys U14 Tournament

October 18, 2015 by Slazenger HC

U14’s tournament at Darton, vs Driffield, Chapeltown and Bradford.

You know it’s going to be hard day when the body mass of the opposition back four equals that of your whole team! Slazenger U14s approached what was the first 11 a side tournament for many of the players, looking a little small by comparison to the competition, but they made up for their physique with skill, passion, energy and teamwork.

Up first was a very strong Driffield side who were very quickly 2 ahead, but Slaz organised, shut them out and eventually took the game to the opposition, conceding no more.

Second was Chapeltown, the boys fed off their first performance and bossed the game, but good keeping continually prevented a Slaz goal, final score 0-0.

Finally a game vs our (friendly) rivals Bradford, a game too far for young Slaz players when playing at such high energy – soon two down and under lots of pressure. Slaz did lift themselves thanks to skipper Josh Dunstan and created some chances, but an ex Slaz keeper denied them to the end. So a losing tournament (just one point) but lots to build on. Only three players played in what they said was their natural position but we learned a lot about where they really should play. Only 11 players travelled, but we wouldn’t have subb’d of anyone anyway, everyone played their part to the max.

Player of the day was Jack Lee.

Report: 14-10-2012 – Boys U14’s

October 23, 2012 by Slazenger HC

The under 14’s started brightly this season in their first encounter. The squad is a new one but the welcome addition of Dan Levitt and Matt Stacey made all the difference.

The back 4 consisted of Tom Atkinson, Ben Stevenson, Jacob Dennison and young Chris Gascoigne with Danny Alderson in goals. In midfield the team started with Dan Levitt, Alice Gascoigne, Captain Matthew Stacey and Nick Caldersley with Matthew Chilton and Harry Gunning leading the forward line. Hannah Chilton started as substitute.

Airedale 2 – 1 Slazengers (Stacey 23’)

The first game against Airedale saw some settling in nerves as Slaz hadn’t played together as a team and many hadn’t played on a full pitch before. The back 4 coped well wit early pressure and Stacey and Gunning lead a good attacking line up the pitch. Airedale however had their own good players and after a disallowed goal Slaz were caught on the hop a quick attack from two talented Airedale midfielders. Slaz responded with some great triangular paces between Stacey, Levitt and Gunning through the centre and it was Captain Stacey who took his goal well to bring parity. Both teams were playing at their optimum now with goal chances at both ends but it was Airedale who took their chance with Slaz left high up the pitch looking for a goal making up the hole left in midfield and scoring past Danny Alderson.

Slazengers 5 – 0 Pocklington (Levitt 5’, Stacey 7’ 12’, Calderley 22’, A. Gascoigne 25’)

The team performance had been good and switching around Harry Gunning to a more sweeping role whilst pushing forward Dan Levitt made the difference in the second game. Slaz were in charge against Pocklington. Dominating for 90% of the game Dan Levitt and Matt Stacey drove attack after attack onto the Pocklington keeper. Dan scored first with Matthew following with 2 in quick succession. Then the wingers started to show their in fluence with Matt and Stacey supporting Alice and Nick both to score giving Slaz a very healthy 5-0 win.

Bradford 0 – 3 Slazengers (Levitt 3’ 20’, M. Chilton 25’)

Dan Levitt wasn’t going to let Captain Stacey have the share of the goals so against a tougher Bradford side he pounced early to score against a sluggish defence. Bradford responded well but couldn’t get past Jacob Dennison or Chris Gascoinge at the back. A counter attack by Slaz gave Dan another goal and in the dying minutes the whole team combined in a flowing counter attack to push the ball to Hannah playing up front for her to scramble in a final goal.

A cracking start to the year with Matthew Stacey leading the line well as captain, however for her encouragement and vocalisation throughout the match the Coach’s Player of the Tournament was Alice Gascoigne. Well done everyone a superb U14 team performance.

Slazenger Juniors Selected for Yorkshire

April 25, 2012 by Slazenger HC

On Sunday, 8 of the current Slazenger boys U14’s squad competed in Durham at the Nothern Region County JAC tournament for West Yorkshire. 5 played for the U14 team, 3 for the U15 team; Aidan Hopkinson, Ralph Toon, Rowan Tejura, Matthew Stacey and Luke Gueli, Isaac Fisher, Matthew Feather and Robert Caan.

All 5 U14 Slaz players have been selected to join the Leeds Puma’s Northern Region JRPC training squad (Yorkshire & Humberside U14’s). 2 of the U15 players have also been selected to progress.

U14’s Report

The tournament was held between West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and East Cheshire, with West Yorkshire ultimately coming out victors. A thrilling afternoon’s hockey saw West Yorkshire U14’s score a dramatic last-minute equaliser against a strong Greater Manchester team in their semi-final, leading to penalty flicks. A perfect four saves from four flicks by ‘keeper Ralph Toon saw Rowan Tejura duly net past the dispairing GM ‘keeper’s left hand to seal victory.

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In the final, the teamwork of the Slazenger boys, captained by Aidan Hopkinson, led West Yorkshire to a convincing win over North West Champions East Cheshire, who were penned back and 3-0 down within ten minutes, which is how it finished.

Aidan Hopkinson, Ralph Toon, Rowan Tejura, Matthew Stacey and Luke Gueli have all been selected to go through.

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U15’s

From the Under 15’s boys, Issac Fisher, and Matthew Feather have been selected to go through

Congratulations to all players!

Report: 04-03-2012 – Boys U14’s Tournament at Harrogate

March 4, 2012 by Slazenger HC

In my match report after our last trip to Harrogate in December, I noted that our next tournament was just 2 weeks away. How wrong could I be? With three successive cancelled tournaments, Slazenger travelled to Harrogate 3 months later with 16 boys including two boys on their first tournament; Elliot Golding & Lee Stringer.

The only player missing was Jack Garside who was taken ill the day before. Prior to the tournament, we had arranged to loan players to Huddersfield and Bridlington. However, Bridlington pulled out at short notice as they could field only 4 players, conceding their games 3 – 0 as per league rules.

On our previous visit to Harrogate, we experienced “cold weather but were spared rain or sleet”. This time we were not so lucky with the weather playing a major part in the tournament.Squad: Aidan Hopkinson, Alex King, Ben Stevenson, Elliott Golding, Isaac Fisher (Capt), James Higgins, Lee Stringer, Luke Gueli, Matthew Feather, Matthew Stacey, Mayank Gupta, Nick Calderley, Ralph Toon (GK), Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura & Tom Pitchforth

The first game between Huddersfield and Harrogate was played in freezing rain and was won 2 – 0 by Harrogate, with both Elliot & Nick acquitting themselves well for Huddersfield, particularly Elliot, who made some well timed runs at centre forward which were not picked out by the other Huddersfield players.

Slazenger (5) vs. (1) Huddersfield
Slazenger were quick to take control of the mid field, stringing together passes well and creating scoring opportunities right from the start, We quickly moved into a 2 – 0 lead within the first 5 minutes thanks to goals from Isaac and Matthew Stacey which raised a small smile as he scored against his old club. As the cold rain turn to sleet, Slazenger continued to push hard for another goal, working play towards the left to bring Lee & Ben into play. Pushing so hard for another goal left us open to counter attack and we played the price when Huddersfield managed to ‘bungle’ the ball over the line on about 10 minutes.The team reacted well, without panicking and continued to play good passing hockey which resulted in 3 goals in quick succession from Isaac, Robert and Tom to win the game convincingly.

Slazenger (2) vs. (1) Harrogate
While Slazenger were taking on Huddersfield in freezing rain and sleet, Harrogate were sheltering and resting in the warm club house. This advantage showed as Slazenger started a little slower than in their previous game coming under pressure, particularly down the Harrogate left. It was from one of these attacks that Slazenger failed to clear the ball fully leaving a Harrogate player with space and time at the top of the circle to score.

Again Slazenger did not panic, passing the ball and threatening down both flanks as well as down the middle of the pitch but as the sleet turned to snow, Slazenger clearly had the upper hand. Several shots were saved or missed by very little and Harrogate attacks became less frequent and less likely to score. However, it was not until 8 minutes from the end that a passing move through mid field led to the ball being played wide on the right where Matthew Stacey and Luke worked the ball around behind the defence before Luke laid it back for Isaac to finish almost unchallenged to equalise.

Straight from the restart, Slazenger pressed hard, with Aidan winning the ball well inside the Harrogate half leading to a string of short corners one of which Isaac slotted away convincingly to give Slazenger the lead. Harrogate then pressed hard in the last few minutes with Slazenger defending in numbers to record a deserved win.

It is worth noting that most of the Harrogate parents/supporters stayed in the warmth of the club house while the hardy Slazenger parents braved the elements (under the covered stand) to cheer on their team which might well have been the deciding factor.In the circumstances, the friendly that had been arranged between Harrogate and Slazenger in order to give some of the less experienced players in both squads more pitch time was called off so that everyone could get dried out and warm.

Player of the Tournament was Isaac Fisher who not only scored 4 goals but also controlled the midfield superbly and passed the ball around.

Most Improved Player was Alex King who is growing in confidence and skill to match his determination to win the ball, particularly against Harrogate.Thanks to John Toon who umpired three matches in succession.

I umpired just the first match so can appreciate how cold he must have been.Slazenger U14 boys finished 2nd in the YYH league, securing a second successive place in the playoffs which will take place on 29th April at Halifax HC. Congratulations to the team! Please keep this date free in your diaries!

Report: 04-12-2011 – U14 Boys triumph in Harrogate

December 6, 2011 by Slazenger HC

We travelled to Harrogate for fixtures against local rivals, Wakefield, Bradford and Doncaster with a squad of 14 players. Although the weather was cold and windy, we were spared the rain/sleet that other squads and training at Slazenger encountered.

Squad:Aidan Hopkinson, Alex King, Isaac Fisher (Capt), James Higgins, Luke Gueli, Matthew Feather, Ralph Toon (GK), Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura, Tom Pitchforth, Matthew Stacey, Jack Garside, Mayank Gupta & Ben Stevenson

Slazenger (4) vs. (0) Wakefield
Wakefield had a large squad with some strong individual players, however, Slazenger quickly took control of the mid field with the effect that most of the game was played inside the Wakefield half. Early pressure was rewarded when Robert Cann, well positioned in the ‘D’, picked up a rebound from a Matthew Stacey cross to strike home. Five minutes later Isaac Fisher’s well struck shot came back off the post and was bungled away by the defence. Isaac also had a goal disallowed, being judged to be a high shot from a penalty corner.

The relentless Slazenger pressure was rewarded again after 16 minutes when Tom Pitchforth finished off a good passing move between Aidan Hopkinson & Isaac Fisher and again on 20 minutes when Luke recycled a half cleared penalty corner for Matthew Stacey to tip home.At 3 – 0 Wakefield did manage a couple of break away attacks which were dealt with by the full backs, Matthew Feather & James Higgins with the help of Ralph Toon in goal.

The final goal came in the last minute when Alex King, playing at inside left placed a very intelligent pass back out to Aidan Hopkinson on the top of the ‘D’, who had plenty of time to get a strong shot away through the mass of Wakefield defenders.A great start to the day, especially as the newer members of the squad were able to take part and contribute to the win.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Bradford
Bradford were short of players so borrowed from Wakefield, however, they had a number for JAC players in their team. However, Slazenger got the best possible start when their central midfielder showed too much off the ball to Isaac Fisher straight from the push back. Isaac won the ball just inside the Bradford half and carried it through the defence to score a great solo goal.Just a minute later Slazenger went two up with another Matthew Stacey goal.Bradford then managed to steady themselves and absorbed a lot of Slazenger pressure. We also took the opportunity to get our newer team members onto the pitch, allowing us to rest players for the Doncaster match immediately afterwards. We were even able to loan Mayank Gupta to play (rather too well!) for Bradford against his own team.With the sides now more evenly matched, the rest of the game saw several chances at both ends but no more goals.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Doncaster
Playing a strong Doncaster side who had also won twice on the day and without a break was not ideal, but our boys dug deep and really stepped up to the challenge. They also displayed some of the best team play that I have seen for many years, running into space and moving the ball easily. We did not have things all our own way as Doncaster mounted several strong attack, mostly straight down the middle and focused on a single HIPAC player which brought outstanding saves from Ralph Toon in goal.

After 10 minutes Slazenger mounted a strong attack down the left wing which was being defended well by Doncaster when the ball was passed back to Rowan Tejura at left half (90°) who passed the width of the field to pick out right half Luke Gueli in space. Luke kept his composure to drive into the ‘D’ and get a strong shot away which beat all the defenders and the keeper.The teams continued to be evenly matched and it was good to see Slazenger defending as a unit and mounting attacks down both flanks.

It was from one of these attacks on the right that Matthew Stacey’s cross from inside the ‘D’ was turned in his own goal by a Doncaster defender. The presence of Robert Cann on the defenders shoulder no doubt contributed to the goal. Slazenger could have scored a third when the second of three penalty corners after the final whistle was stopped despite Isaac Fisher being clear on the ball just 1.5 meters from the goal line.

Overall, a fantastic morning of hockey, complimenting similar good results from U16 Girls & U12 Boys. Slazenger played well as a team and improved as the day went on, mainly by passing earlier. The quality of our play was also recognized by two of the other team coaches.

Player of the Tournament was Ralph Toon who, despite long period of inactivity in the first two games was up to the challenge, making a couple of saves early in the last game which undoubtedly changed the course of the game.

Most Improved Player was Robert Cann, who worked hard at inside forward and was always well placed to receive a pass, even in a very crowded ‘D’. Thanks to our regular travelling army of supporters who could be heard above any other supporters and John Toon for umpiring and helping on the sidelines. Our next tournament is just 2 weeks away on 18th December.

JAC/ JDC Dates

November 24, 2011 by Slazenger HC

The following JDC/JAC dates are now confirmed

Age Range	Date	Location	Time
JDC Boys U13/14	11th December 2011	Leeds Uni – Weetwood	2pm – 4pm
JDC Girls U13/14	4th December 2011	Leeds Grammar School	1pm – 3pm TBC
JAC Boys U15/16	4th December 2011	Leeds Uni – Weetwood	2pm – 4pm
JAC Boys U17	4th December 2011	Bradford Girls Grammar School Squire Lane BD9 6RB	2pm – 4pm
JAC Girls U15/16	11th December 2011	Leeds Grammar School	1pm – 3pm

Report: 23-10-2011 – Boys U14’s Tournament at Ben Rhydding

October 23, 2011 by Slazenger HC

For the first fixtures of the season, Slaz travelled to Ben Rhydding to take on two home teams and Leeds/Adel.

Slazenger (0) vs. (1) Ben Rhydding A
Slazengers started very brightly, quickly taking command of the mid field area and keeping possession well. Both wingers (Matthew Smith & Alex King) mounted attacks and both Hannah Field & Tom Pitchforth saw their shots go just wide or saved by the keeper. The game remained evenly balanced throughout with Rhydding’s attacks being calmly dealt with by James Higgins and Jess Buttery at full back and keeper Ralph Toon.

With just over a minute left to play, Slaz lost possession just outside the 23 line. The attack that followed resulted in a shot which Ralph kicked clear. Unfortunately, the ball shot vertically upwards off a Ben Rhydding stick and the Ben Rhydding’s strikers were first to work out where it had gone, bungling the ball over the line. Despite the score, Slazengers had plenty to be proud of as they had made Ben Rhydding A look beatable for the first time in many years.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Ben Rhydding B
Again Slazengers started strongly playing almost all of the first 15 minutes inside the Ben Rhydding half. The pressure was rewarded after 5 minutes when Isaac Fisher’s shot from a short corner was turned in by Matthew Stacey, playing his first tournament for Slazengers. The occasional Ben Rhydding break was dealt with by the full backs and half backs, Matthew Feather, Mayank Gupta & Ben Stevenson who were also supporting wide attacks well. Fisher had been dominant in midfield throughout both games and his efforts were rewarded after 15 minutes when he weaved through a crowded area to slot home a goal.

The score could have been much higher with the forwards failing to latch onto a couple of crosses from Aidan Hopkinson on the right and Alex King just missing a tip in from a Matthew Stacey shot. In the last few minutes, Ben Rhydding did begin to mount some attacks and were awarded a couple of short corners which were defended well.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Leeds/Adel
Riding high from our defeat of Ben Rhydding B, Slazenger’s allowed Leeds to have too much possession and consequently found ourselves defending our own goal several times in the first few minutes. Slazengers were still dangerous on the break with Matthew Smith shooting high.

After 8 minutes, Aidan converted a short corner in to the bottom right corner of the goal. It was good to see Nick Caulderley coming in for the tip in should it have been necessary. The middle portion of the game became a little scrappy with both teams conceding possession too easily.

However, Slazenger found their shape again resulting in several scoring opportunities. Smith saw his tip-in go just wide. With only a couple of minutes remaining, Pitchforth kept a cool head to finish a move down the right wing involving Feather, Hopkinson and Field to put the game beyond Leeds.

Matthew Feather received the “Player of the Day” award, for a very assured performance at half back and Most Improved Player goes to Mayank Gupta who showed great effort and some excellent skills for a player so new to the game. Overall, Slazengers should be proud of their performances, they were a credit to the club on and off the field.

Slazenger U14’s will next play on Sunday 4th December at Harrogate HC

Squad: Aidan Hopkinson, Alex King, Isaac Fisher (Capt), James Higgins, Matthew Feather, Ralph Toon (GK), Tom Pitchforth, Matthew Stacey, Jack Garside, Mayank Gupta, Nick Caulderley, Ben Stevenson, Hannah Field & Jessica Buttery.

Matches Played on Sunday 23rd October 2011 at Ben Rhydding Hockey Club

Junior Indoor Hockey

September 13, 2011 by Slazenger HC

FIRST GIRLS SESSION IS CANCELLED – BOYS SESSION LOOKS LIKELY TO BE CANCELLED

The first sessions of the Yorkshire Youth Indoor Programme is fast approaching. The aim is to develop indoor hockey skills across Yorkshire. The North Boys & Girls U18/16 Indoor Competition takes place each year in December, leading to the National Finals.

U16 Girls first date Sunday 18th September
U16 Boys first date Sunday 2nd October

The venue will be the indoor facilities at Nab Wood, Bradford 1:00pm-4:00pm for both dates.

Teams or individuals who want to gain indoor hockey experience are invited to turn up and play.

There will also be some indoor coaching development opportunities and competition on the first dates, with a view to run greater competition after the numbers are established

There are two indoor courts at Nab Wood that can be used so for the first sessions. These will have an open age policy up to U16. Activities and competition will be structured to reflect the age range and abilities of the players attending.

Anyone interested in taking part should contact Stuart Harrison who is organising the sessions on his email at dsharrison@sky.com

Report: 14-11-2010 – Boys U14 – Huntington

November 14, 2010 by Slazenger HC

On Sunday, Slazenger Boys U14 travelled to Huntington School with a 16 strong squadWith 5 spare players, we were able to help out Leeds/Adel who had only 9. Alex King & Nathan Archer went on loan throughout the day so that they both got plenty of game practice, impressing the Leeds coach with their enthusiasm and skill. Alex played primarily in mid field while Nathan played full back.

Slazenger 1 – 1 Wakefield
This was a hard fought game with plenty of quality hockey on show from both teams. Slazenger opened the scoring after 10 minutes winning a short corner after an excellent attack down the right with Captain Luke Gueli & Tom Pitchforth continuing their partnership from the last fixtures. Once again, the time practicing short corners paid off with Aidan’s shot finding the bottom left corner. This was followed by sustained pressure at both ends. Matthew Feather & James Higgins defended very effectively and at the other end, Matthew Smith, Alex Caulderley and Luke Gueli all came close at the oppositiion’s end.

Wakefield had been dangerous on the counter attack throughout the game, which was not surprising given their physical size and pace. Ralph Toon had already made a number of excellent saves to keep us in front. Then 2 minutes from the end, a Slazenger short corner broke down Wakefield mounted a counter attack, carrying the ball the length of the field with much of our defence still in the Wakefield half. Ralph stopped the charge but the ball went loose and it was a Wakefield players that responded fastest to score an equalizer.
A draw was a fair result given the balance of play.

Slazenger 2 – 2 Leeds/Adel
Slazenger’s second match was also a close fought encounter, with sustained pressure at both ends. Within minutes of the start, Isaac Fisher had a shot saved by the goal keeper, but on 6 minutes, Leeds converted a short corner taking the lead. However, Slazenger did not panic and were rewarded 5 minutes later when Captain Luke Gueli showed great composure in front of goal to fire a shot into the right corner.

Slazenger had a majority of the play so it was no surprise when they took the lead on 17 minutes. Isaac received a pass outside the circle, running in past several Leeds players and scoring in the right corner. Unfortunately, following a broken attack, Leeds made a fast break, leaving James & Matthew Feather exposed against 3 Leeds attackers. Leeds passed to the spare player on the left wing who managed to squeeze it past Ralph Toon into the right corner.

Slazenger 1 – 0 Rotherham
Slazenger put together some outstanding moves right from the start, with Alex Cauderley coming close to scoring his first goal after just 3 minutes. It was Tom Pitchforth who got a well deserved goal after 5 minutes. His shot/cross from right on the outside of the ‘D’ somehow made it’s way through several Rotherham players into the left corner of the goal.

Slazenger continued to dominate play, but were unable to finish. The main threat from Rotherham came from a half back with a very hard hit and an effective aerial shot; not something that much of Slazenger had encountered before. Aidan, Rowan & Alex Cauderley followed instructions perfectly to close him down quickly, preventing him from using the aerial shots and when he did, Isaac, Matthew Feather & James dealt with them safely.

The final play of the game almost resulted in a well deserved second goal. As promised before the game, Isaac used his own aerial shot from just inside our half. Aidan received the aerial and V-dragged a defender before passing to Tom at right wing. Tom slipped passed his defender to fire in a hard cross which Luke deflected towards the goal, narrowly missing the left post.

Overall
Overall, the Slazenger team played some very good hockey, moving the ball around well. The games were much closer than expected, with every team winning one game each, however, Slazenger were the only team to remain unbeaten. All three coaches from the other teams commented on the quality of hockey played by the Slazenger team which is probably the best indication that we are developing into a strong team.

‘Man of the matches’ was Tom Pitchforth for his boundless energy on the right wing, always being available for a pass.

‘Most improved player’ was James Higgins who gained confidence with every game.

Squad: Ralph Toon (GK), James Higgins, Matthew Feather, Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura, Luke Gueli (capt.), Aidan Hopkinson, Isaac Fisher, Matthew Smith, Sam Bland, Tom Pitchforth, Alex Caulderley, Dan Croxall & Ben Black

Report: 17-12-2006 – Boys U14’s

December 17, 2006 by Slazenger HC

Slazenger played some good passing hockey and showed signs they were starting to gel as they competed in their third tournament of the season in Harrogate.

Despite losing the opening game 3-0 against Rotherham, Slaz hit back with a battling 1-1 draw against Thirsk , thanks to a Jake Barras goal.

The final game against Harrogate saw changes aplenty at both ends, but it was the hosts who took theirs to earn a 3-1 victory, despite the best defensive efforts of Kerry Rollin and Danny Perry.

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