Pictured left to right - Florence Miller and Maddie Axford

Mr Mason-Mcleod (Head of Hockey)

Last week, rising hockey stars Maddie Axford (Lower Sixth) and Florence Miller (Year 11) were called up by England Hockey to represent the U18 and U16 teams respectively, in host of competitive fixtures against Ireland at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre.    

The U16 team won their first game 5-0; however, the second match of the Test Series was a quieter affair with a solitary goal enough for England to take the victory. In a match, which was evenly battled out, the only difference between the two teams was a deflected goal from Florence Miller, just after half time to ensure England would make it consecutive wins. Maddie Axford was the co-captain for the U18 team and they won both games 2-1 and 8-2.

England U18 Head coach, Sarah Kelleher reflected on the matches: “It’s great to get started with playing international games and to see where the squad and individuals are in terms of their development and in preparation for the European’s in Russia this July. The players embraced our theme for the camp: Finding Flow, Calm in the Chaos - learning to self-organise and deal with the 'what if chaos scenarios' we put their way. It’s been a very promising start in our first series of international games.”