Match report- ♥️ vs Panthers 2

Hearts’ first match of the winter season, against Panthers 2, saw us missing a few key players, with Chloe, Chiara and Izzy very kindly agreeing to play up for us.

The first quarter started a bit slow with everyone getting used to playing out of position and with new players. We eventually found our ground and pulled the score back in the second quarter.
Liv and Chloe both had a great game at GS and GA, holding their own against a tough defence and scoring some excellent goals.

Izzy, Chiara and Kate rotated in centre court, giving some really strong feeds into the D and helping the defence bring the ball up the court.
Kat had a really strong game in WD against a very quick WA, but she was able to keep up, putting a lot of pressure on her and keeping the ball out of the defensive D.
Pip played her first game as an official member of team hearts. She had some really great tips and won us a lot of important rebounds, allowing us to turn the game over.

It was our first game playing GD/GK together, we both worked really well in putting pressure on the attack, especially in the 3rd quarter forcing them to make extra passes which we were able to turn over.

The overall score was 41-36 to Panthers, with player deservedly awarded to Liv.

Some areas to work on would be timing when making moves and receiving the ball, but overall we had a really good first game and still gained a point for getting within 5.

Note to self, don’t go out the night before a 9:30am match, as you will be playing with a hangover 🫠

Written by Laura – player

Match report: Clubs v BDR Jets

What a great way to start the winter season.

To be honest with you all, it was a rough start getting back on court this morning. I hope none of the team minds me saying that I think we were all adjusting to the fresh start and change of venue. This was demonstrated by some sloppy passes that didn’t have quite enough height or strength behind them. There was also some rushed passes/overheads into the D which the defenders quickly cottoned on to and started to intercept. This, together with their GA being ridiculously good at shooting, meant we went into the second half being nine down.

HOWEVER… the tables started to slowly turn as we slowed down, started to use the width of the court and played the ball around the D more before passing to the shooters. As a result, we won the third quarter and going into the fourth, once we started pulling it back, there was just no stopping us.

Don’t get me wrong, we still have some work to do, with centre passes and just re-gelling a little but I am so proud of us for pulling it back as well as we did. Well done to everyone for keeping our heads high and powering on because it definitely paid off.

Bitter sweet though because unfortunately Lorraine did suffer an injury – on the first game back. So recover quickly please Lorraine 🤞🏼

Congratulations to Amelia who won player, had some great feeds and was just overall a powerhouse on court.

Let’s start as we mean to go on team 💪🏼💪🏼

♣️ Clubs 45 – 41 – BDR Jets ✈️

Written by Ellie – Captain

Match report: Diamonds 08.09.24

Diamonds played Hotshots 2 on a wet and rainy Sunday morning, winning 28-18!

Q1 began well matched with both teams adjusting to the weather and the very slippery conditions. Despite this, passing was good and the team was able to move the ball around well with good interceptions and work it into the attacking D starting off the great shooting from both Chloe and Katie, despite some minor setbacks with the slippery ball.

Unfortunately, during Q2 the rain began to get heavier with passing and running for balls became a lot harder with none of us wanting to slip and cause an injury. However, an injury did unfortunately occur meaning brief changes had to be made to the attackers. This still didn’t stop the passing, especially Poppy M in the centre being able to move the ball really effectively around court.

Q3 saw some great interceptions from Edie and good work around and in the defending D, putting a lot of pressure on the shooters, however there was an slight increase in dropped passes and replaying, that had been a problem throughout the match, due to the wet conditions.

Q4 was not the best quarter with hotshots managing to move the ball around well and picking up more goals, however the team carried on with a good defence and won back some balls that were fed into the attacking D well giving the shooters good chances against the Hotshots defence who were working very hard against our shooters.

Well played first match of the season everyone!👏

Written by Georgina – player of the match

Aces 25 – 38 Blackbird Divas

Aces started their return to division 2 with a defeat against summers seasons div 2 champions Blackbird Divas. With a few changes to personnel and a few weeks off training, Aces came out of the blocks with a scrappy slow start with some miss placed passes and unforced errors, causing us to fall narrowly behind Divas with their excellent shooting accuracy. Aces settled in the second half of the game with a better possession based game and allowed us to build some better passages of play together, however, a lack of match fitness and not having a substitute cost us. There is many positives to take from the game including feeding and re-offering around the D, to allow our shooters the best positions, as well as defensive pressure in the D and better centre pass options. Areas to work on include strength of passes, back line passes and overall individual fitness but we’ve got it in us to beat them next time! Players player went to Katie and captains player went to Leah

Written by Katie – Vice Captain

On 1st September 2024 we began the day with 3 league matches at the new/old Central venue – Tudor Grange aka Kingsley. The courts were much improved and offer more space for spectators! Team Clubs started the proceedings with a win over another Alcester team, BDR, 5 points. Team Hearts were without 5 of their squad and called upon the support of just 1 Ace and 2 Diamonds, they fought hard against a Panthers 2 Team and finished within 5 goals of Panthers’ win, 2 points. Aces game fluctuated throughout, in the end they finished within half of Blackbird Divas score, 1 point. Our netball day finished with our AGM & Awards event at Alcester Rugby Club which was well attended and enjoyed by all. Lots of worthy winners of awards. Minutes to follow.

What a fabulous end to the summer 2024 season! Although we have endured more soggy conditions than sunny ones, we have continued to grow as a club and enjoy the progressions:

Division 1

Our first team, Hearts, have maintained their high standard, playing against some tough teams who, in a lot of cases, play at a higher level in city leagues. Finishing a very proud 5th position 👏

Division 2

Clubs fought well to prove their worth in 2nd division finishing in 3rd position 👍

Division 3

Aces used this season to regroup and gel as a team after struggling a tough winter in 2nd division and I am very proud to say that they finished top in 1st place 👌

Division 4

Diamonds were UNBEATEN all season. We have watched them progress over the last 4 years to the wonderful team that they are today. Finishing in top spot another 1st place for Alcester 🏆 Diamonds 💎

Our newly formed Queens had a great first season, winning a few matches along the way! Finishing in 8th place ahead of two established teams. I look forward to watching their progression 👸

ATNC enters their 15th year in September!

Aces 48 – 35 Lodge Park Violets

Aces last game of summer season ended in another fabulous victory with a score of 48-35. It was very fitting that it beautifully displayed some of the main elements that Aces, as a squad, have tried to work on this summer season including circle rotation, mental strength and bringing the ball down court through the different channels.

Every individual in this Aces squad this season has shown enormous hard work and commitment to training and it really has paid off with everyone having grown as a player which could be seen in this last game. Chloe E at GS and Grace T at GA displayed just how far they have developed their circle rotation and understanding of each others positioning, along with some accurate shooting, was lovely to watch. Izzy, Sarah and Chloe H at C and WA helped bring the ball down court and showed a variety of feeds into the D, keeping the opposition defence guessing and always being available for the reset options was lovely to watch. Izzy being the positive princess that she is on court has really helped Aces this season with keeping everyone calm and motivated and keeping their heads throughout the game. In defence Leah, Katie and Grace C helped bring the ball down court and feed into attack but also made our opposition have to keep trying to work the ball around with tight marking and many interceptions putting them under pressure throughout.

Overall it was a great game had by everyone and the result meant that Aces finished summer season as WINNERS! Well done to Grace T for getting captains player today for beautiful movement around court and in the D and fabulous shooting accuracy!

Written by Katie – Co-captain

There’s a theme emerging here… ☔️

In a break from the torrential rain, Queens took on BDR in their final match of the season.

It was destined to be a great game from the beginning and the first quarter saw both teams fighting hard for every point, despite the slippery conditions.

Sharp shooting and great work around the D from our amazing Gemma, Hayley, Frankie and Amy saw our score climb steadily upwards… And their coordination with Soph’s amazing centre work never missed a beat. 💛

Coupled with tip top defence from Leanne, Lucinda and Debbie, the Queens always stayed one step ahead of BDR. 💛

With great movement around the court, plenty of energy and laughter, it’s no surprise that Queens took the win at 19-18 🎉

What a way to end the season!

It’s been a fantastic Summer and it’s been lovely to see our team flourish and bloom into the amazing squad it is today💛

Here’s to the Queens for many more seasons to come!! 🥂

Players Player – Lucinda (GK/GD)
Captains Player – Leanne (GD/GK)

Written by Lucinda – Player

Match report: Clubs v Stratford Ladies

Clubs played their last game of the season against Stratford Ladies and what a game it was!

Pace was good, the defence were on it with rebounds, most interceptions made it to turnovers and shooting was on fire – what more can we do 🤷🏼‍♀️ this meant that we slowly but consistently kept ahead, leading us to the win.

A HUGE thank you to Chloe and Sarah for playing for us 💕 Shout out to Jodie and her claw ✋🏼 who was awarded player (obviously) 👏🏼 but overall well done to the entire team for a great game and a brilliant summer season finishing in the top half of the table in division 2! ☀️ WHAT A WAY TO END LADIES! Bring on the winter ❄️

♣️ 52 – 40 👯‍♀️

Written by Ellie – Player

Last game for Hearts and a win against CBH 44-40!

A bit of a soggy game but fun none the less! Lots of adaptations made to slow the game down but defence were tight and lots of tips helped to secure the win!

Shooting rotation was great and a strong play through mid court too! Thanks to Leah for playing up and for Molly’s hard work out of position in the defensive circle too!

One thing to work on for us is space awareness at the moment and trying to get the ball off the sidelines as we can get stuck there a little👍

A few weeks break now before it all begins again for Winter season🙌

Player went to Natalie, she was everywhere this game!! 💨