Team's Twice-weekly Training Regime Leads to Football Triumph
After an unbeaten league season, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School Sixth Form football team were victorious with a 3-2 win against Glyn School in the Emerging Sports Sixth Form final in April. Earlier in the season, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School team had beaten Glyn School 9-4 in a league match. This, combined with seven other wins in the season, meant that the Royal Alexandra and Albert team were confident ahead of the final.
However, the match did not go exactly as planned, with Glyn School scoring within the first few minutes of play. Although Glyn School dominated the first half, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School team were undeterred and did not give up. They equalised with a 30-yard strike goal from Year 13 student, Harry Avis, but the game had to go into extra time.
It was a hard fought match but the team showed character and put their training into action. The team has trained twice a week since the beginning of the School year in September. Although their training sessions were gruelling, the team knew it was key to their success in the season.
Team Captain, De-Aun Lodge, a Year 13 boarder, said, “We did a lot of training before and during the season. It really pushed us. In the end, it paid off because we were prepared to keep playing.”
Harry, the top scorer of the match, scored a second goal in extra time with a free kick from 25 yards to win the game. He agrees that the extra effort put in during training was crucial to their win, “Our coach said that we looked fresher than the Glyn School team during extra time. It was tough having to play 120 minutes of football. We were exhausted by the end of the 90 minutes but had to carry on if we wanted that win. Our preparation beforehand really helped us get through it.”
The team coach, Mr Matt Walkowiak, said of the boys’ performance, “They have worked extremely hard to get to where they are, and I’ve been very impressed that they have been continuously enthusiastic. I pushed them in their training sessions but they didn’t complain. They are a talented squad and I’m so pleased their hard work paid off with a win in the final.”
April 2015
