Perse netballers reflect on successful season
The Perse 1st VII netball team enjoyed a successful season after reaching the national finals of the England Netball U19 Schools Championships.
Having been crowned county champions last October, they made it through to the national finals at Oundle School by finishing runners-up in the East qualifiers.
On the day, The Perse faced a series of tough, close-fought matches against Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, Millfield, Woodhouse Grove School, North London Collegiate School, Oakham School, Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College, Durham Johnston Comprehensive School and Wellington College.
Captain Izzy and vice-captain Sorcha (both Upper Sixth) were pleased with how the season had gone with it being the first time for nine years that a Perse 1st VII had qualified for the national finals.
Izzy, who plays goal-attack and wing-attack, said: “We smashed the county round and this was the first year we were confident we could do that. We then had a tough group at the regional finals but put in a really good performance there and everyone really came together so it was a very good day.
“I felt like we had the potential to go for the nationals, but it was always going to be quite tough. We’ve brought through quite a lot of new players after losing some players from last year, but some of us had been to nationals before, so we knew what the competition was about and knew not to be complacent.”
Sorcha, who plays goal-attack and goal-shooter, added: “We were pretty excited to be there and we were the first cohort to have reached the nationals twice after also qualifying at U16 level.
“For the nationals, we all wore purple ribbons in our hair and it was a good experience. It was really close in most matches and we only lost by one or two goals in most games.”
With their netball careers coming to an end at The Perse, both Izzy and Sorcha felt the highlight had been reaching the U16 national finals while in Year 11.
Sorcha, who also plays for Royston Netball Club, said: “We’d had the same coach (Millie Diss) for quite a few years and it was a really close-knit group. We had a very good team, so when we got to the national finals that year, it was especially exciting because it was the first time we had done it.”
Izzy, who plays for Hertford Hornets outside of school, added: “My netball got so much better with Miss Diss. She massively helped me and the stability of having the same coach who knew how we all played helped us get to the nationals in Year 11.
“I would also say 90% of my friendships have come through sport, so in that sense, it’s such a great way to make and develop frienships.”