Teddington Bears v. Tiffin
28th January 2017
​
Better late than never, here is the match report from the Tiffin game.
Playing Tiffin at our home ground always feels like a more optimistic affair given what usually happens at Nonsuch and we never lose on social day, maybe, just maybe.....
With the elder baby Estalls despatched to the football pitches and the youngest Estall taking a hit of baby crack (the iphone!) we went on court as follows:
GS – Katie C
GA – Tash
WA – Jen
C – Kat
WD – Cat R
GD – Vicky
GK - Em
The game started and we quickly and surprisingly went 3 goals up, and the first quarter was spent going end to end. Vicky picked up more than a few interceptions and kept us very much in the game this quarter, with the C/Kat squared and Jen pace up and down the court, there were plenty of feeds into Tash and I, who had our eye in quite quickly. Despite our best work, we still went out of this quarter losing 9-7.
As we went into the second quarter, we made no changes, but our game fell apart, we had a few unfortunate offsides called against us and Tash and I were dealing with very physical defenders, one of which was very tall, and we kept calling for balls we weren’t free for, with Tiffin getting their eye in and Tash and I not, the score opened up. I also think we tried to play at Tiffin’s pace, and we were punished for it accordingly, there are varying paces on the team and when we play too quick, we give the ball away because we aren’t drilled enough to make assumptions about the positioning of our team mates. The score had opened up hugely in this quarter to 19-11.
With the scoreline now widening up, we realised we needed to make changes: We went out with the team looking like this:
GS – Vicky
GA – Tash
WA – Cat R
C – Kat
WD – Jen
GD – Em
GK – Gem
Gem and Em straight away got their positioning right and we really managed to stop some of the balls going in their circle, we unfortunately could not get the ball into our attacking third for 2 reasons. We were playing too quick and in our desire to release the ball before footworking, we were throwing it into the atmosphere. We also gave the ball away by calling for balls we weren’t ready for, or not using our peripheral vision when passing the ball on, giving Tiffin more than one or two interceptions. Despite this, when we settled and played our game, we had some great player and whilst the scoreline opened up in this quarter, there were moments we were pulling it back to 4 or 5 goals. Vicky’s eye was in and having been run over by her defender several times, we won plenty of penalties. Sadly, the curse of the third quarter got us, and we went out 10 goals down – 29-19.
All that said, we knew that we were pushing them now, with fresh legs and Kat managing to get through Tiffin’s solid players, we pushed on, once again, getting to within 3 or 4 goals of catching Tiffin, but I think it became obvious how well drilled Tiffin are. We play with all heart, tactical positioning has not been our forte and is a big part of the reason we need a coach to take us forward. Gem and Em kept killing the interceptions but Tiffin were not missing and with us giving the ball away in centre court, we just could not catch them, although at times we got very close. The thing to take from the second half of this game is that everyone kept pushing on, we didn’t just give them the game. Unfortunately the timer was against us and the game finished 38-25.
The good news, the day improved dramatically as 12 Teddie Bears descended on Walton on Thames to enjoy a fondue night, which I will happily make an annual event to chase away January blues, no one was sick, no one ate soap and no one stole flowers from my building’s reception.......15 bottles of prosecco, one magnum, 2 bottles of sours and one bottle of questionable Limoncello were consumed so even when our losses are tough, are livers are tougher. A wonderful time my #BearsNotBitches
Players Player: Cat
Man of the Match: Vicky
​
Ashford v. Teddington Bears
14th January 2017
​
This weekend’s match was at a particularly unsociable time of 1pm and was made no less joyous by the pouring rain endured by those of us there early enough to warm up. Having beaten Ashford twice in 6 months, once in a pre-season friendly and again in the opening game of the season, we were hopeful we could expect the same result.
The opening line up looked like this:
GS – Katie C
GA – Vicky
WA – Katie P
C – Kat
WD – Melissa
GD – Emily
GK – Gemma
Having lost the first centre, we quickly went a goal down to Ashford’s amazing shooters, we got it straight back and the first few minutes of the game went end to end with Vicky and I managing to convert almost all of our shots. As the quarter extended, in lots of ways we made it difficult for ourselves, the rain meant that a lot of us were pulled up for footwork and we made a few silly mistakes with our passing accuracy. With Ashford getting a run of 3 clear goals, we found the whistle going for the quarter leaving us 4 goals down and a score of 12-8.
As we went out for the second quarter, we made the same silly mistakes and Emily and Gemma struggled to contain two very good, well-drilled shooters, who did not miss from anywhere. Katie P picked up some great interceptions and Melissa kept Ashford’s WA out of the game, Kat and Katie P continued to play at a very quick pace and we had some excellent feeds into the circle, but once again, we threw away interceptions by trying to go too quickly and as the rain continued to fall, footwork calls were once again being made all over court. Despite the excellent shooting from Ashford’s shooters, we managed to hold on to the goal difference and went off this half still losing by 4 goals at 23-19 but having drawn the quarter.
The rain kept coming down so there was only one thing for it as we went in to our third quarter, it was time to get our rainy weather secret weapon on, Ali. The team was rearranged as follows:
GS – Katie C
GA – Vicky
WA – Jen
C – Kat
WD – Ali
GD – Emily
GK – Gemma
Emily and Gemma now had the measure of their shooters, and with a poorly Katface full of lucozade we went back on court ready to fight for it. There is no longer such a thing as the curse of the third quarter, Jen’s jump meant we picked off a lot of balls in centre court, Vicky was being clattered by the GD to within an inch of her life and this made her angry, nothing helps the Bears cause more than an angry Vicky and we slowly started to push back on Ashford. With the Gem/Em combo picking up some epic interceptions and putting Ashford’s shooters under immense pressure, Ashford’s conversion rate slowed and despite Vicky and I not having our best quarter shooting wise we shortened Ashford’s lead to 2 goals. This quarter ended 27-25 and we had won the quarter.
With Ali keeping us in control as the ball came down the court, we were all answering to the call of who wants it more, the prospect of sending Katface out on her birthday night out with anything other than a win was not going to happen and we all dug in, Vicky’s clatterings by the GD finally resulted in penalties and with a tiny bit of help from the foot of God, Vicky scored a last minute penalty to put us in the lead by just one goal and then we resisted all of our natural Bears urges to push for one more goal and we played possession just to run the timer down. When the final whistle blew, we had turned what seemed like a certain loss into a victory, albeit one achieved in the ugliest of ways and by the skin of our teeth. Once again our fitness and our scrappiness won us the game. When it comes down to Who Wants It More? It is always us.
PLAYERS PLAYER: Ali and Em
MAN OF THE MATCH: Jen
​
THE TEDDIE BEARS 2016 REVIEW
Well Teddie Bears, 2016 has really been a wonderful this year for this little club of scrappers and I thought I would have a run through of our best bits.
Back in January, we had a solid start to the season under our belts, but the big games were yet to be played. Two back to back games saw us at Nonsuch taking on Saints and Tiffin, the change to our fortunes wholly attributable to the debut appearance of pink Lucozade #BeastMode and the invention of the war cry – #WHO WANTS IT MORE?. We may have been missing our Tash who was focused on marathon training, but the return of Sophie Beal in what can only be described as the world’s tightest netball dress meant the Beal genes returned to the team and our shooting was unstoppable. Happy news for Amanda and Sam as we lost them to babydom for the next year – you are welcome back whenever you want ladies!
We were #PlayingForPromotion as the wins kept coming until February half term hit, and those inconsiderate teachers went skiing and decimated our squad, a tough loss to a gloating MPs was suffered by us not on the slopes but Carly Baker did make her debut in a Saturday match, so there was a silver lining.
Stuck in third behind Tiffin and Saints, we thought our promotion hopes were over, until Tiffin choked and put us in touching distance of them. The only problem was, even if we won all of our games, there was goal difference of 50 for Bears to overturn, with very few games to do it in. But then, we had Sophie Beal in a super tight dress, so maybe, just maybe, we could do it. Back at home in March, Fairlands came to visit, we were always evenly matched to Fairlands and knew it would be a tough game, but then something magic happened, defence were unstoppable, midcourt were uncatchable and the goals rained in again and again and again, in one game we overturned a 50 goal deficit. We are amazing. #DeficitWhatDeficit?
Rolling into April, all we had to do was hold our nerve and we did, but then Tiffin choked, AGAIN and with games still to go, Bears had more than #PlayedforPromotion, we had won promotion, with the highest goals scored in our league and the only team to have beaten the eventual league winners all season.
Our last game of the season against Vandals was little more than a show match, but we give all on court and nothing less than a win would do. Katface put her body on the line and managed to slide the length of the defensive third on her belly and as we always do, in a scrappy fashion we nicked the win. That was all quickly forgotten though as it was time for our first new-look social! 20 something Teddie Bears descended on Richmond and caused carnage, Rigby and Mayhew nearly got us thrown out as we lunged and danced off and Janeted our way around the dancefloor and Karen D and Emily showed the rest of us how to have amazing hair, epic figures and look effortlessly beautiful – if we didn’t love them so much we would hate them #GirlCrush. We decided going forward, all Bears socials should involve alcohol, dancefloors and Katface’s games.
Summer League swiftly followed and other than the return of Jen after having a baby, Nat making her debut, Sue returning from injury and Jess T and Lucy H coming home to us, probably the less said about that the better. It was a tough league, we struggled with shooters and as the summer holidays approached, and our teachers departed, the struggle was even more difficult, in the end, we treated it like a fitness session.
In the midst of summer league, Bears went on their first tour to Bournemouth 7s. Emily wanted everyone to know we were not drunk, we were just having a really good time. We camped, were flashed at, drank lots of cocktails, ate lots of pizza, played lots of card games, we discovered that Bears love cheese and of course, we played some netball. Having all cracked our ribs from laughing so hard all weekend, we all decided this should definitely happen again. Just one year previously we had considered closing our club for good, and now hear we were, on tour and holding our own.
As July approached we thought we had probably better get on with the serious business of an AGM, knowing that we had more than enough to carry on, this was a different experience to last year. Things were so great that Vicky and I decided that our AGM should also be our Awards Night and the following players were recognised:
PLAYERS’ PLAYER: Kat Joyce with the overwhelming feedback being “she is absolute jokes”
MANAGERS’ PLAYER: Emily Wenman – because Vicky and I thought she was the girl who had tried the hardest and worked the most on her game last season, particularly in playing out of position in those early months.
MOST VALUED PLAYER: Cat “The Engine” Rigby – Because her work rate is tireless and she never panics.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL PLAYER: Vicki Ellender – enough said, defence or attack, gadget arms are everywhere and she is our leader #GirlCrush
Before we knew it, it was September again, all the old faces returned, minus Sophie, Sam and Amanda (BUT HURRY UP BACK) and we were lucky enough to get some new faces too and convince a few of those Antlers to become Bears. Welcome Hannah and Melissa! We even have some Little Bears at the club again, Katie R and Yas are reminding us of the roots of this club and also showing up some of our oldies with their mega talents. Most excitingly, our Most Inspirational Player Vicky was back with two new knees (sort of) and well ahead of schedule.
We started training earlier this year, but our fitness was still sluggish, that being said, we still picked up the win in our first game, but from there on, it has been a mixed bag. I am still convinced the absence of pink Lucozade is to blame.
We are still missing Mrs Battle on court, as she continues to make way for the wonderful defence we now have growing at Bears. We are glad you are still at training, but we will always miss your solid, cheerful dependability and your amazing talent on court. There are a lot of girls at the club who have learnt a lot from you and long may it continue. We love you Mrs B (and your Lemon Drizzle cake!).
After a tough Thursday League last season, this season the Thursday League team are really starting to gel well together and get into their stride. Karen D has made her Bears debut and rumour has it that Amy never misses a shot and with Cat F in support I feel certain the win is just around the corner. Well done girls and particular thanks to Carly who does such a fabulous job in organising the league. The #CarlyBakerAppreciationSociety is a juggernaut that keeps growing and deservedly so.
Socials continue to be crazy fun, with Katie P and Gemma proving they are the hardest drinkers of all, and it now being absolutely imperative that funky hats feature as part of all Bears celebrations.
As we close the year, there is so much to look forward to. Despite the mixed bag of results, we are in second place in the league and are very much #PlayingForPromotion again, The Teddie Bears Tour is booked for July and Kat is promising us a beer pong social to remember in January. We also have the Beers Fondue Night on Thursday 22nd December before the year is out.
If you aren’t yet signed up for tour or fondue, or anything else you might be interested in, please let me know.
Otherwise it is time to thank you for the wonderful contribution each and every one of you make to this club we love so much. Particular thanks need to go to Gill and Karen, not just for doing our umpiring, but for finding replacements when they can’t. Although I am not sure how Karen is going to top getting #JesusJanet to umpire for us earlier this season. Very special thanks too to Ali, who steadfastly keeps this club afloat with her great financial wizardry and always makes sure we have everything we need in the quickest possible fashion (despite going on more holidays than Judith Chalmers). To Carly for taking over the job of New Members Liaison Officer and carrying the burden of organisation and captaincy of the Thursday League team. Lastly, thanks to Kat, who does a phenomenal job of making our training sessions so much fun, with no incentive other than her love for you Bears, and to Jen and Vicky, our wonderful managers who take on the burden of team selection and have driven us into the wonderful position of being second in the league at Christmas in our first season in a new league. Long may all your reigns continue.
Never have I been more proud of my #BearsNotBitches. This club is magic and you all are the reasons why. You are quite simply the #BestGirlsInNetball BRING ON 2017!!!!!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Love,
Katie
​
Teddington Bears v. Focus
10th December 2016
​
Its taken me a while to write this match report because I have been too busy enjoying all the fun December has to offer! I am now STILL at work in the lead up to Christmas (I hate you teachers!) so thought I would take the opportunity to catch up.
With the promise of Mrs Battle’s lemon drizzle cake, Teddie Bears assembled on a cold and slippery morning at Surbiton High. Focus are bottom of the league, and by some crazy calculation, we are second in the league. In lots of ways, this should have been a walk in the park.
As the game started, the line up looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA – Vicky
WA – Katie P
C – Kat
WD – Cat
GD – Melissa
GK – Gemma
We managed to start ok and go a few goals up, but Focus had brilliant shooters and quickly caught up, particularly as we made quite a few silly mistakes, overly high passes, passing to focus who had a very similar kit to us and not being ready to receive our centre passes. We kept digging in and despite it very much looking like the game was going our way, we left this first quarter drawing 10 all.
Knowing that we had to try something a bit different. Katie P had a brilliant quarter out of position, but we decided to mix up centre court a bit in order to give ourselves a different angle and to up our height in the defensive circle. As we went out for the second quarter we looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA – Vicky
WA – Cat
C – Kat
WD – Melissa
GD – Emily
GK – Gemma
The courts were very slippery by now with misty rain and Katface took one or two of her now notorious tumbles, all in the presence of Mr Katface, who came to cheer us on. The good news is that Em was back, fighting fit and with #BeastMode engaged, she was ready to put her body on the line. The difference in height in the circle made a big difference and with Melissa picking up interceptions and hassling defence, we started to feel the tide was turning, we put some clear distance between us and Focus and then would drop our concentration and find that Focus would get 3 in a row. We weren’t making silly mistakes by now and Vicky had gotten angry so the goals were raining in, my eye was in too and with solid feeds from K/Cat squared, I started to feel like we were making progress. However, when we went off from this quarter, we only increased our lead by 1 goal.
Going into the third quarter, we made no changes. Having recently identified that the absence of pink lucozade was the reason for our recent third quarter curse, Kat was well prepared and we went out ready. Focus were starting to tire a bit now, but they had a brilliant WA who continued driving play when their Centre run out of puff. With Em and Gem pulling off epic interceptions and Melissa tirelessly bringing the ball up the court, despite the agony her teeth were causing her, we finally started to make progress. There were some questionable umpiring decisions, which Kat felt the need to comment on, leading to an angry exchange with her counterpart that was straight out of the book of Mrs Estall. “You’re not the umpire” “NEITHER ARE YOU”. All that working with children has obviously rubbed off on our Katface. Comfortable with our lead, we went off leading by 35 goals to 29.
Bouyed by overcoming our third quarter curse for probably the first time this season, we went back out for the 4th quarter, just needing to protect our lead. Having pulled ahead by 10 goals we thought we were sitting comfortably, a few silly mistakes though, and then a stoppage after the GD had a fall, we had about 10 minutes to go and did not settle properly. Despite Em, Gem and Melissa’s best efforts, Focus did not stop fighting and with effective attack we let Focus come back into the game. I struggled to get free from my player and I think we were too relaxed. We gave away our 10 goal lead and finished the game with a marginal win of 45-43. Had the game gone on for 2 more minutes, I think we would have lost it.
Thanks to Ali, Kate, DanFace and the Sergeant Major for their support on the sidelines, it makes a big difference. Most importantly, to Mrs B for the lemon drizzle, I am still kicking myself for forgetting the leftovers, not to mention my brand new Tesco Value lunchbox.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Vicky (despite thinking she played sh*t, which she of course did not)
PLAYERS’ PLAYER: Kat
​
​
Surrey Jets v. Teddington Bears
26th November 2016
​
No Match report, but we won 41-35, two people broke in to a school, and Jess Todd left us. We beat Spiderman.
​
Teddington Bears v. Alpha
12th November 2016
​
Please go easy as this is my first attempt at a match report – and Katie’s set the standard unattainably high!
My first instinct was to write ‘This game was crap. Full stop.’ However, time is healer and deep breath, here we go:
On possibly the wettest day of the winter so far Teddington Bears arrived at Surbiton High to play our first game against Alpha. After a quick court assessment and umpire check we decided to go for it in near torrential conditions. After Tash had demonstrated serious ninja parenting skills (by whipping out a pop up tent for her boys to hide in!) we were ready to go. Both teams partook in an interesting Irish jig pre first centre pass to try and keep as warm as possible, and as entertaining as this was, I think we were all wishing we were in Tash’s tent!
The starting line up was as follows:
GS- Alice
GA - Tash
WA - Jess
C - Kat
WD - Jen
GD - Vicki
GK - Em
We flew out of the blocks in typical Bears style – first quarters seem to be our forte! Alpha were struggling to adapt to the weather conditions and we were coping the better of the two teams, picking up a lot of loose balls. With some lovely shooting from a new combo in the D, Alice and Tash, we ended the first quarter one goal in front.
With the weather showing no improvement, we made sure we adapted our tactics to avoid high and overly hard passes as both the ball and our hands were soaked and slippery. Alpha played themselves back into the game in this quarter with an excellent GS who didn’t miss, but we continued to fight for the ball and move it down court. Although it was not the highest quality play from either team, Bears went into half time still one goal up – but feeling like it could and should be more.
With Jess’s fast pace and darting runs being completely cancelled out by the impossible weather conditions and Em being picked on by the opposition umpire for marking to close (incorrectly and unfairly so) Jen and Vix made some tactical changes bringing on Gem and Ali.
The line up for the second half looked like this:
GS - Alice
GA - Tash
WA - Ali
C - Kat
WD - Jen
GD - Vicki
GK - Gem
Now I’m keeping this bit brief. The third quarter was a struggle, with Bears struggling to get free and missed chances all around the court, but we were still in the game and 1 behind with a quarter to go. We were eventually undone by a combination of lack of fitness, panic, poor positional play and silly passes. Final score 40-45 loss.
What we will and have learnt from this:
- Fitness is important – hence all the suicides – we need to have the energy to drive forwards to the ball even in the last quarter
- Driving forwards to the ball is key. Running away and asking for an overhead pass due to panic / lack of fitness meant held balls / easy interceptions for Alpha and ultimately cost us the game.
- Developing our set plays and positions on the court will help our game flow and avoid confusion / taking each others space.
- We need to trust ourselves and play our own (beautiful and calm) game right up until the end of a match!
However – what is most important is - we are still #bearsnotbitches, there were some lovely moments of play in the game, some great interceptions, and we stuck together as a team. Plus no one got the flu from the appalling rain. Every cloud.
Looking onwards to the next game (and win) now - Thursday and Saturday!
Teddington Bears v. Saints
22nd October 2016
Saints have just come up to Division 4 too having only lost one game all season – against us. They are a tough opposition, but they are a small club like us and not unbeatable. With Em still feeling under the weather and Vicki managing netball elsewhere, Melissa stepped up and played her debut game for Bears.
As the game opened up the teamsheet looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA - Tash
WA – Jess T
C – Kat
WD – Cat
GD – Melissa
GK – Jen
We started strong and with some solid work in defence and centre court, we went 3 goals ahead very quickly. Saints defence were very strong, but our defence were stronger and Melissa and Jen made some wonderful interceptions allowing us to complete several turnovers in this quarter. The quarter ended with us leading 13-8.
The second quarter started much as the first, we were strong, we didn’t make silly mistakes. Tash and I both had our eye in and with Jess and Kat working the ball around the circle for us, we kept on going. The game was physical but it was very much 50/50 at this point and felt fair. At one point Kat clattered her centre so hard that I thought I was going to see stars around her head, but she got up and kept going. Saints did not make it easy for us, but we really really wanted it. Saints caught us by one goal in this
With our subs Emily, Kate B and Sue either injured or not wanting to play, we decided that no changes would be made. We started off with a 4 goal lead....then we just fell apart. The curse of the third quarter, lots of silly mistakes, mostly us just throwing the ball into the atmosphere or throwing the ball too high. Saints found their extra gear in this quarter and really hassled us in centre court despite some solid hassle from Jess, Kat and Cat. But it was this quarter in which an incident occurred which changed the game. 10 minutes in to this quarter we were still holding on, despite our mistakes, unfortunately we did not bank on Saints’ GS taking contact off the ball being allowable to a whole new interpretation. Towards the end of this quarter, Melissa was kicked and tripped some distance from the ball. Rightly irate, the umpires took both players off court to talk about this, but after this, the game belonged to Saints. We went off this quarter losing 32-30.
As the final whistle blew for the third quarter, we all did our best, we fought hard and did not make any of the mistakes we made in the last few weeks but defensively, we could not run the risk of an assault when people have jobs, lives and families outside of netball. Special mention should go to Jen and Melissa who somehow managed to play on calmly in the face of unbelievable provocation. I have never been more proud of you all. We handled what happened with class, it sucked to not get the win after that but we are still sitting pretty in the league in third place, the rematch is ours.
Final Score: 41-46
MAN OF THE MATCH: Katie (!!!!!)
PLAYERS’ PLAYER: Jen
Special mention to Melissa and Jen, who really did keep their heads and keep us in the game. Lesser women would have ended up in fisticuffs on the receiving end of that kind of behavior. Pure class ladies.
​
​
Barnes v. Teddington Bears
8th October 2016
​
This was our second away game of the season and with the heavy defeat by Tiffin still ringing in our ears we were all desperate to get our season back on track.
With finally a full strength side, Vicky returned to her rightful position in defence, Tash pulled on her dress for her first Surrey League of 2016 and we were all ready. A few dodgy U-turns and the entire squad assembled at Raynes Park High School to play on a netball court under a flyover. We made ourselves a bit nervous by watching Barnes’ A team, who looked very effective but despite the last defeat, confidence was high.
As the whistle for the first quarter went, the starting line up looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA – Tash
WA – Jess
C – Kat J
WD – Cat R
GD – Vicky
GK - Gemma
We started strong by going 3 goals up, energy was up all over the court and Gemma and Vicky set about their usual cracking interceptions, with the 3 engines in mid court (Cat, Kat and Jess) and Tash’s unbelievable fight, we came out all guns blazing. Gone were the lack of discipline mistakes of the last game, steady were the turnovers and energy was high. We ended this quarter up 15-8.
As the second quarter started, Kat had picked up a niggle and we switch K/Cat squared around to bring Cat into Centre Court, Barnes had also made some changes both in attack and defence and they were not prepared to roll over. About 8 minutes into this quarter we dropped our heads and Barnes managed to get 3 goals in a row whilst we struggled to get the ball into our attacking third. That being said, Tash showed no signs of rust as she banged in goal after goal from near and far and we closed this quarter 27 -16 having increased the gap from 7 goals to 11.
The game felt so close and we had already seen in the last quarter that Barnes were not going to go down without a fight and so we decided that we would make no changes other than to switch back K/Cat squared. Barnes really came out ready to win, they had made changes again and with a building support on the sidelines, they were now really pushing us. Jess, Tash and I were very heavily marked and it was only thanks to the solid support on the centre third line that we were able to work that ball around and get it in the circle. The finest moment of this quarter however was Vicki getting pulled for contact on the centre pass leading to Gemma taking on 2 players intercepting what should have been a certain ball into the circle and the whole team managing to convert this all the way down the court for Tash to score. Absolutely brilliant. As Barnes pushed and pushed us, we had to ask who wanted it more? The prospect of losing on the same day as the social was not an option and defence really came into their own in this quarter with some amazing interceptions from Gemma and Vicky and of course Cat’s tireless work rate. We were right to worry about the game feeling so close as the curse of the third quarter struck as Bears actually lost this quarter 9-7. Thankfully our ground work had been done in the first half and we still led 34-25.
Still superstitious of making changes, we all went back on for the last quarter really knowing that we were going to need to push, and push we did. We did look tired and I think we still aren’t showing the level of fitness we did at the end of last season, but everyone took responsibility for hassling every single ball and despite really really good defending from Barnes in these final moments, Tash and I still managed to get the goals in, with the help of solid working from Kat and Jess and Barnes were thwarted by some really really good interceptions from Vicki and Gemma. As the game closed, the 11 goal difference seemed impossible, this was a game that felt much closer than that – final score 45 – 34.
Man of the Match: Vicki
Players’ Player: Gemma
​
​
Tiffin v. Teddington Bears
24th September 2016
​
Going in to Division 4 we knew it was going to be tough, this match made particularly tough by the absence of Kat and Vicky who do so much to direct us and hold the game together. Whilst we were nervous, Karen’s unbelievable work in securing the one and only Janet as our umpire meant we all couldn’t wait to get to Nonsuch.
In this match, we had Nat making her debut for Bears, Carly making her second Surrey league appearance and Sarah coming back from injury. With effectively 3 new players on court and Jen being drafted in to take the frankly terrifying centre role, we went out to do our best. The starting line up looked like this:
GK – Gemma
GD – Emily
WD – Katie P
C - Jen
WA – Nat
GA – Sarah
GS – Katie
Our downfall in this quarter was our discipline, there were times when we looked strong, but we gave away 3 back line passes in defence because there was no one there to receive them, we had two breakings at centre pass and we played the game too quickly. With excellent defenders it was difficult getting the ball into the circle and on trying to force out, we inevitably lost the ball. With both Sarah and I struggling to get our eye in, despite some great positioning from Sarah, the game ran away with us and was lost in the first quarter despite the unbelievable efforts of Gemma and Emily in defence, who are really starting to play beautifully together.. As we went off, the score was 14-3.
With a pep talk from Jen, we decided that what we were going to take from this match was a lesson and we were going to give everyone the opportunity to settle in to the team. With me struggling to get free in the circle and with it being such a hot day, it seemed only fair to divide centre up amongst the team. As we went out for the second quarter, the team looked like this.
GS – Sarah
GA – Jen
WA – Ali
C – Carly
WD – Katie P
GD – Emily
GK – Gemma
Once again, Gemma, Emily and Katie P were epic in attack and were a huge part of the reason that despite the wide scoreline, we still felt that we were in the game. Tiffin’s shooters were excellent and in particular their GS also happened to be a GK, she was difficult to mark and well-positioned to collect the rebound on any missed shots. Gemma did so well to keep her quiet. Bringing Ali on bought some control to centre court and with some great positioning we did start to get the ball into the circle, unfortunately we just could not convert. We were still playing hot potato with the ball and not giving anyone the chance to reset their play when we did get some brilliant interceptions. Carly’s work rate at centre was tireless and with some great supporting spots around the circle, her energy and enthusiasm was hugely welcome in this quarter Discipline again was an issue with breaking, foot faults and more leaving Gemma holding the ball. With Sarah going over on her ankle, and with the scoreline 30 -6 once again, Jen and I decided we would make changes again in the next quarter.
As we went into the third quarter, it was becoming increasingly hotter and we felt that where we could we should put on fresh legs, the team now looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA – Nat
WA – Ali
C – Carly
WD – Katie P
GD – Emily
GK – Jen
Despite the score being really against us, I really cannot commend everybody more, who, despite being hot, tired and generally not yet at our peak match fitness, really pushed on. If you had told me there were 10 goals in this game rather than 24 I would have believed you. We played some really great netball in this quarter, we got some fantastic interceptions, the back line pass was sorted and with great support from Katie P and Emily on the edge of our attacking third, we really worked that ball in, but once again, we couldn’t convert. We are really missing Tash and Sophie at GA (HINT TASH – SOPHIE I KNOW YOU HAVE AN EXCUSE!!!) and without our most inspirational player to fill in, I can’t praise the efforts of Jen and Nat enough who stepped up and had a go. We went off this quarter losing 45-10 but feeling like we were now in our stride.
As we went into our last quarter, Jen, having played a different position every quarter, took one more for the team and pulled up the centre bib, we decided to give Carly a rest after an impressive two quarters at centre in the heat and drop Emily back to GK to give Gemma a runaround and rest Emily up. The final quarter looked like this:
GS – Katie
GA – Nat
WA – Ali
C – Jen
WD – Katie P
GD – Gemma
GK – Emily
We were dead and buried in this quarter in terms of getting anything out of the game but nonetheless we all soldiered on. Solid support on the line from Katie P and Gemma with solid working from Ali and Jen around the circle this was actually our best quarter. We were losing by some margin, but everyone still played like there was something to play for and I was very proud that we didn’t give up, it is that spirit that can win matches (admittedly not this one though). Despite the scoreline, the game was evenly matched and I am confident if we can play everyone in their rightful positions next time around, we can definitely get something out of the game. Unfortunately this weeks score of 56-13 really doesn’t reflect the game that was played.
One thing to note however is, on the second match of last season, we lost to Tiffin and we went on to do great things, don’t let the loss go to your head, we might have lost, but we definitely learned.
PLAYERS PLAYER: Jen
MAN OF THE MATCH: Jen
​
Teddington Bears v. Ashford
10th September 2016
​
At last, the new season is underway and 9 Teddie Bears arrived on time, only 8 Teddie Bears arrived sober! Going from closing a club down to promotion in one season means we are all aware of how tough Division 4 is going to be but everyone seems committed to training, committed to playing every fortnight and committed to our aim of giving our best in every match.
As the game opened, the starting line up looked like this:
GK – Gemma
GD – Emily
WD – Jess Todd
C – Kat
WA – Jen
GA – Vicky
GS – Katie
Ashford bought along a largely unchanged side from the friendly on Tuesday and this added to our confidence, having obtained our only win of summer league against them. The game opened up with Vicky putting us two ahead, but with a very good GS at Ashford’s end, we very much went goal for goal despite the unbelievable efforts of Gemma, who was on fire at GK, not just on Saturday but on Tuesday too, her reach is amazing and Em too, who has spent very little time on a netball court this summer. We actually got into our stride very quickly and what counted as normal service last season resumed. Kat started a game of elbow wars with her centre and we did for the most part play our game. As we went out of the first quarter, a last minute penalty saw us in the leading with 12 goals to 8.
We made no changes in the second quarter. Jen and Kat had by now worked out their teething issues around the circle and Vicky kept showing us why we love that surgeon that got her back to us in time for a new season, Vicky put in goal after goal and with some excellent interceptions in mid-court from Em, Jess, Jen and Kat, we started to open up our lead, although Ashford kept bringing it and it didn’t necessarily feel like we were opening up the score on court. Unfortunately, Gemma got injured in this half (are you mended yet Gem?), and we had to swap in the ever reliable Mrs Battle. With Mrs B and Emily picking up where they left off last season a large part of the score opening up was Kate and Emily instinctively knowing where the other one is and every loose ball being collected by Mrs Battle. At both ends, I don’t think we made the most of the rebounds coming off the post and there were a lot that were volleyed when we probably could have caught them.
At half time, Vicky had the measure of Ashford’s play and we made some tactical changes. The team for the second half looked like this:
GK – Jen
GD – Em
WD – Jess Todd
C – Kat
WA – Katie P
GA – Vicky
GS – Katie C
Vicky and Jen directed Jess Todd out at Centre Pass and sent the first centre pass (Ashford’s) of the third quarter straight off the sidelines winning the ball for us, already leading 25-18, we still knew that with such a solid Goal Shooter for Ashford we could not afford to relax. Thankfully, Mrs Dark very much has her jump back and despite a fairly significant height difference between Jen at GK and the GS, Jen got some amazing interceptions and generally just hassled the shooters. Emily showed just how good her schooling under Mrs Battle’s tutelage has been and directed defence vocally and brilliantly and actually it was probably the most confidence I have ever seen Em play with, keep it up Em, you ARE that good! Katface of course continued elbow wars (what is a Saturday morning without a warning for constant contact). Knowing that Ashford had no subs and with us (slightly) misguidedly believing we had fitness on our side we pushed them hard in this quarter and opened up our score to 36-26.
By the final quarter, there were no further changes to be made. Ashford were tired, as were we, and whilst with Katie P’s fresh legs there were plenty of feeds coming down the court, we weren’t driving forward with the energy that we usually do, despite the 1 litre bottles of pink lucozade. Vicky and I were sloppy in going for our rebounds (which by this point there were many). A summer of cheese boards and copious wine had taken its toll but thankfully we had the youth and sprite in our Jess Todd, making her Teddie Bears return after 3 years at uni. To our credit, as we neared the half century of goals in our first match, we kept pushing, but unfortunately the 50 goals just escaped us as the final whistle blew. Bears beat Ashford 49-34. Not our best performance but a win is a win and it felt sooooooo good to be back on the court with my little gang of scrappers.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Jess Todd (totally deserved Little Bear)
PLAYERS PLAYER: Vicky