 Sport Godalming held their annual awards ceremony at Charterhouse Club on Friday 21 November. As always, the event was well-attended by the area's best and most dedicated sports players, personalities, coaches, managers and administrators. The entries for the various categories were strong, sometimes including up to 12 nominees. GHC's Under 14 A team were nominated for the Go Godalming Shield, which is the Youth Team of the Year Award, and they came away winners...
The ceremony started with introductions and then a spirited demonstration of table tennis to get us all in the mood for talking about sport (some pretty impressive hitting including lobs and smashes!). Our boys were presented their trophy by the former mayor of Godalming. Josh, Raphael, Cameron and Benji were there to accept the award on behalf of the team who also included Harry, Finlay, Alex, Max, Freddy, Sam, Marco, Isaac, Ben and Tom.
Below is the text that was read out by the master of ceremonies...
National Champions
In one of the strongest hockey-playing countries in the world, England Hockey, the national governing body for hockey in England, run national club competitions for junior hockey. The Under 14 Boys Competition for the 2013/14 season started with nearly 80 teams competing from across the country. The Guildford Under 14 Boys A Team were undefeated in their Regional play-offs and went on to win the National Championship 2014 in the Under 14 age group, winning against teams from all regions of the country.
Premier League Success and League Fair Play Trophy
Guildford Hockey Club boys play in the Mercian Home Counties Colts Hockey League which stretches from Canterbury to Oxford. In the 2013/14 league season all four Guildford U14 Boys teams placed 1st or 2nd in their league tables with the Under 14 Boys A Team tied for 1st on points in the Premier league, probably the most competitive boys' league in the country. The A and B teams both earned a place in the Mercian League Finals Day (unprecedented from any club in the league) and were awarded the Fair Play Trophy across all age groups in addition to coming 2nd and 4th in the Under 14 age group out of the nearly 60 teams in the league.
European Competition
In December the A Team travelled to Barcelona to take part in one of Europe's toughest and most prestigious youth competitions. The boys came joint 2nd out of 15 teams from across Spain and Europe.
Leadership
The Under 14 Boys A Team were an example to the B, C and D teams in their club, inspiring them to improve and providing tough competition in internal matches to help their squadmates progress their hockey. Many of the boys also helped to coach younger junior players in the club, helping them develop skills and positive attitudes to progress their hockey and love of sport.
For more information on Sport Godalming, please visit their website:
Sport Godalming
See the Surrey Advertiser online article about the awards ceremony here:
Surrey Ad article
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