Over the half-term break, 17 girls from Years 9, 10 and 11 were very lucky to head off to Holland to take part in a hockey tour.
A superb experience for all the girls and staff. Below is a blog from Miss Brizell about the trip along with match reports from Mr Tyson.
Day 1
Everyone met at school early Friday morning so excited to start the hockey tour! The coach journey to John Lennon airport was good and spirits were high on the coach. Once our luggage was checked in and we were through airport security, we went to get some lunch before boarding the flight. Thankfully, the flight only took 50 minutes and as quickly as we have taken off, we were landing in Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.
Soon after getting through passport control, we were finding our way to our coach for the weekend (we found out it was the Netherlands national football team's coach!!). Straight from the airport was a two-hour journey to the hockey ground, with many of the girls keeping us all entertained with lots of music and singing!! The girls quickly got changed, warmed up and were straight into a competitive match against a strong HC Eersel team
Match 1: The Queens School vs HC Eersel (2-1 Win)
With an early start for all the girls and the excitement of being away from home for a couple of days, the 2022 Hockey tour got underway. After eight long hours of travelling, we arrived at Hockey Club Eersel a little tired and having seemed to forget we had a hockey match to play. With limited warm up time and a rush to get on the pitch the girls were about to experience Dutch hockey for the first time. The passion and the crowds were brilliant, but the nerves showed during the first quarter with small mistakes being made. However, they withstood the pressure and got to that first whistle 0 – 0 and growing in confidence.
After some quick instructions and some inspiring words from Fran the 2nd quarter started, and we looked to build on some good spells of possession and great build up play. Eersel won a penalty corner against the run of play and after the ball pinballing around the D, they managed to slap it home to take the lead just before the break. After half-time, where we were all able to calm our nerves and realise that we were more than a match for the Dutch team, we started the second half with intensity and passion. After only a couple of minutes we had won ourselves a penalty corner which resulted in a shot on target rebounded off the keeper to Martha, who confidently drove it home for 1-1…. game on!
With this newly found confidence only minutes later Abi made a brilliant run into the top of the D and was brought down by their keeper. Penalty stroke awarded. As Aster stepped up, the pressure was high, and the crowds were silent. The ball found the bottom corner and Queen’s were 2-1 up. Entering the final quarter, we came under a lot of pressure and we were hanging on to our lead. With the final play of the game they won a penalty corner and the first half nerves were back. Eersel had an excellent routine that saw the ball heading top corner until a stick appeared out of nowhere. Fran saved the day and the final whistle was blown as Queen’s leave the pitch with a great win!
With high morals after speaking to some of the Dutch teams' players, we got back onto the coach for our short journey to the hotel. After finding our rooms, we went up for a late dinner. With lots of lovely options to choose from (and the girls finally quiet for the first time the whole day), we sat and enjoyed our food. The girls were given some downtime to get themselves showered and cosy after a long day of travelling and playing hockey, then all off for some well needed sleep.
Day 2:
With an early start to the day, the girls went for a lovely breakfast at the hotel where, once again, there were plenty of options to choose from. Once we were on the coach, the girls were excited to go to their first training session with two Dutch hockey coaches. In their 90-minute session, they looked at the development of space and looking to transfer the ball early and wide to beat a defensive press. The girls were also testing in their rugby ability in a drill which looked to develop their understanding that we don’t always have to pass forward to move forward.
After the girls training session, we had some time before we were due to have our lunch at the hockey club, so we went to the main pitch to watch some of the local league matches. This was a great experience for the girls as they were able to see different skills, set plays and positioning on the pitch.
After lunch, due to a change in schedule with a match having to be cancelled, we went into Eindhoven city centre. We walked around seeing the local buildings, museums and shops. After a few hours of some shopping (Yes, there was a Primark!), we got back onto the coach and back to the hotel for our dinner and some downtime.
Day 3
Once the girls had their final breakfast in the hotel and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Alicia in Year 10, we got onto the bus (that had been decorated with birthday banners and balloons) and headed to the training ground for their final training session. Another 90 minute hard worked session involved plenty of running as we felt they still had far too much energy for the final day of a tour. We also developed their ability to make the correct decision when on the ball by giving them the freedom to choose whether to pass or carry the ball. The final 10 minutes of the training we all had a go at penalty shuffles, which as it turns out was vital for our cup game the following week. The girls then had an amazing experience of being able to watch the women's 1st Team of the hockey club, During the game the girls got to see how different styles of hockey can be played. One team adopted a high press whilst the other was happy to sit back and wait for the right opportunity to attack. Hopefully the girls have all learnt something about their own positioning and adapt and implement it into this year's school matches. Once the match was over, it was our last long stretch on the coach, heading to the girl's final match of the tour against Hockey Club Alphen.
Match 2: The Queens School vs HC Alphen (4-1 Win)
After an already busy day with training, watching a match and of course celebrating Alicia’s birthday we had one final stop before the airport, HC Alphen. The rain was pouring, and the wind was picking up. Luckily, we were playing on a water-based pitch, but it was becoming more like a pond by the second. Having won our previous game, we had the confidence, and the nerves were gone but this time the tiredness was setting in. We started the game well and pushed them and spent most of the first quarter in their D, not allowing them to break out, however when they did, they looked dangerous. Luckily, we got the first goal after a scramble around halfway where Lucy managed to drive towards their goal and put it into the net. Once gain the pressure was off and we started playing more comfortably.
It was deep in the second quarter when we were on the hunt for another goal and after some umpiring confusion as to whether it should be a penalty corner or a goal after Asters shot and the defender's foot put it into the goal. We were now 2-0 up heading into halftime.
The weather showed no signs of improving at the start of the second half, so we had to find other ways to cheer ourselves up. Another goal would do that so the message to the team was push on and score. Let's put this game to bed and then we can enjoy the final minutes of hockey in the Netherlands. Up steps Abi again with a lovely run mirroring hers from earlier in the tour, this time the goalkeeper stayed back and didn’t foul her, but the result was still the same, another goal for Queen’s and now we just had to play sensibly and keep our heads to avoid anything going wrong.
With the defenders stepping up and making some excellent tackles and letting Fran relax at the back, the forwards were still doing their job and looking to get even more on the score sheet. Elena was ready and took her opportunity when it came to it. 4-0 up and with a couple minutes to go the game was most likely ours, but could we hang on and keep that clean sheet. The final whistle goes and All of HC Alphen were around the D to try and score with the final play of the game from a penalty corner. It was not meant to be that we kept the clean sheet, but this doesn’t detract from the girl's excellent performance across the weekend. A 4-1 win is nothing less than what we deserved after all the hard work.
A quick dash to the coach after the match had finished meant we had a short amount of time at the airport to quickly grab a McDonalds and get on our flight back to Liverpool. One hour later and we had landed safely in Liverpool, grabbed our luggage and got on our coach back to Queens. Everyone who went on the hockey tour had a great experience and we all wish we could go back and do it all again!!
Miss Brizell and Mr Tyson
