Junior summer tournaments 2011

Over the course of the summer we have entered our juniors boys into tournaments at all age groups, with some really good results:

U10 – won the Legacy tournament
U11 – runners up in the 8 a side
U12 – won the Legacy tournament
U14 – runners up in the 6 a side, and runners up in the Legacy tournament
U16 – runners up in the Legacy tournament

JUNE
The U11 played in the 8 a side tournament at Brooklands. This was the first time I had seen this group of boys play and did not really know what to expect. However, the team played well and responded to Jay’s coaching, and they deservedly reached the final of the tournament. This was against the pre-tournament favourites Stockport, who went on to win the game. This was the first time that this group of boys had played together and it was a very promising start. It shows that we will be competitive next season at U12, and with some coaching of a number of simple principles and ideas, this team will improve very quickly.

The U14 entered their 6 a side tournament at Cheadle Hulme and after a heavy first game loss to Poynton, it could have all gone very wrong. However, there is a gritty core to this team and the boys managed to get themselves to joint fourth place after the round robin stage. This lead to a golden goal play off against Mellor, which Timperley won after less than a minute of play……..into the semis them. These games are drawn out of a hat and it paired us with Cheadle Hulme which was the easier draw and we won by a couple of clear goals. On the other pitch Poynton and Rochdale hammered each other and it went to a golden goal winner for Poynton by 6-5. Timperley didn’t really get going in the final and finished comfortably beaten by a really good Poynton team.

JULY
There is now a summer tournament which is part of the legacy from the 2010 world cup. Over the weekend just gone, Timperley entered teams at all age groups into the tournament held at William Hulme’s GS.

The U10 had a total mixture of abilities, ranging from 3 boys who had never played a game before, up to an experienced A team player, so it was really interesting to see how they would play as a team. Playing Stockport first game was tough, and we lost 3-4, but from here we never looked back, and got stronger and stronger as the boys got into the tournament. We won our remaining four games (5-1 v Poynton, 8-3 v Mellor, 6-0 v HMG and 5-1 v Norbury) , and with Stockport drawing two and losing one, we ended up top of the league table, and winners of the tournament. This was an ideal tournament for the U10, played on small pitches and allowing our players to get their first taste of proper lacrosse against boys of similar age and size. To win the tournament was exceptional – I had no expectations of this at the start of the day, but Craggie and I were both very pleased with how it all turned out.

The U12 were odds on favourites to win as we had a very strong team out. It was simply a case of keeping the boys focussed on the job in hand and our lacrosse skill would win the day. They have all played and won tournaments in the last 12 months and know what is expected of them; it also helps that the opposition all know how good we are and most go onto the pitch beaten before they start.
We went through the tournament unbeaten, and only conceded one goal, and at times we played some fantastic lacrosse. We still seem to lose our aura against Brooklands, but this was the only close game of the day. The scores were 7-0 v Stockport, 8-0 v Norbury, 2-1 v Brooklands, 7-0 v Oldham, 4-0 v Cheadle Hulme and 4-0 v Poynton. Thanks to Chris for coaching; this was the end to a quite exceptional season for the U12, and they move into U14 in good shape.

The U14 performed well, losing only to Poynton, whilst winning all their other games (including a 1-0 win over Brooklands A). The final league standings was a 3 way tie on 21 points, with Brooklands winning the tournament on fewer goals conceded, leaving Timperley in a highly creditable second place.

The U16 took part in a four team tournament and got a great result in their first game with a 5-5 draw against the man sized Sheffield team. The second game was a 4-2 win over Poynton. Timperely won their third game too, which resulted in them tying with Sheffield on points, but unfortunately Sheffield had conceded fewer goals, leaving Timperley as runners up.