Devon U13 Team Challenge

DEVON SCHOOLS BADMINTON ASSOCIATION  2007

U13 Team Challenge Heats

 Saturday 24 November 2007 at University of Bath

Final position: 3rd

Squad:

Having been to the U17 Inter Counties Tournament last year I had some idea of what to expect at the Team Challenge but none of the team had ever been in a situation like this. 

The South West Region saw Devon drawn against Avon, Cornwall, Dorset, Guernsey, Somerset, and Wiltshire.  Last year’s U13 team had finished 4^th out of five.  It was not going to be acceptable to do worse than that.  Having only seen the Dorset team in a match it was hard to know the strength of the field.

Due to the large number of teams in our region all rubbers were played one game to 21 only.  I was not sure how our team would react to that, being a team that seemed to rely on stamina and wearing other teams done.  Clearly I had to make my first key message – “out hard from the start”.

A valuable lesson I learnt with the U17s was the importance of every single point, my second message for the day – “every point Devon”.

There was a series of rotation through the games used, including a couple of gambles.  The players saw the benefit of playing for every point as we won two matches (Guernsey and Somerset) on points difference. 

The players

Daniel Chow led from the front being the first game on in most matches, playing Boys Singles, winning three of his four games (only narrowly missing out on the fourth).  When playing with Samuel Owens in a Boys Doubles against Wiltshire his speed of movement complimented Samuel’s game, providing an entertaining game and a convincing win.

Samuel Owens is showing himself to be a rapidly improving player and events like this serve to strength that game.  Playing with Zachary Phillips he is part of a fairly formidable Boys Doubles pairing.  Samuel enjoys playing his attacking game and this was particularly evident in his singles game versus Somerset. 

Zachary Phillips is a very natural player and is equally adept at singles and doubles.  This broad strength of play was very useful in a tournament like this, providing many options for rotation.  Zachary is a strong player particularly from the rear of the court and this was evident in the singles game he played versus Wiltshire where his opponent ran out of options to try and beat him.

Jamie Bishop is one of the most dependable players on the team.  Jamie constantly remains unflustered but under the quiet exterior has an incredible drive, which provided motivation for the whole team at this tournament.  A long term doubles partner of Tom Otto, the doubles they played together showed good movement, covering of the court and spatial awareness. 

Tom Otto is one of the hardest working players in a match and this was evident in this tournament.  Playing a mix of singles and doubles Tom always gave 100% to the game he was involved in.  The match versus Somerset was won on points and this was assisted in no small way by the convincing win he and Jamie put in to win the Boys Doubles game.

Jenny Maddison is a good leader as well as player and encourages her team mates not only with vocal support but by her determined play on court.  Jenny played in every match of the day, a mix of singles and doubles.  Her doubles pairing with Hannah Laidler is starting to strengthen and together they won all their Girls Doubles.

Hannah Laidler is a skilful player who moves her opponent around a court very well.  This was demonstrated in her singles game versus Cornwall in which her opponent was unable to keep up with the speed of Hannah’s game.  Her doubles play is also improving, her and Jenny playing well enough together to nick a game off a strong Avon doubles pair.

Katrina Tucker played some of the best badminton I have seen from her during this tournament.  She fought for every point and went on court wanting to win.  A key game for Katrina and the team was her Girls singles versus Guernsey.  Although she lost the game she worked hard to score as many points as possible, helping us win the match on points.

Sophie Laidler is actually an U11 player who we seem to pinch for every match we play.  Conscious of her age she was not played in every game, but when she played she was positive minded and worked very hard.  A particular game of note was when she played with sister Hannah and they made the Wiltshire pair work hard for their win.

Abigail Summers had an impressive debut for the Devon U13 team.  Having only joined the squad a few weeks before Abigail is working hard to improve her game and the results are showing.  Abigail has a good strength and plays well with Katrina Tucker in Girls Doubles.  Together they had a good win versus Somerset.

Match results:

Vs Somerset – drew 3-3, won on points (107 to 103)

Vs Avon – lost 4 – 2

Vs Wiltshire – won 5 – 1

Vs Dorset – lost 5 – 1

Vs Guernsey – drew 3 – 3, won on points (109 to 99)

Vs Cornwall – won 5 - 1

The conclusion

It was a great day in which the players learnt a lot about themselves and their games.  We finished third, behind Avon and Dorset, and therefore just missed out on qualification – but I cannot fault the high energy, high commitment performance of the team.  I was, and still am, so incredibly proud of all of them.

Thanks to all the parents that travelled the distance to support their children and the team.  Special thanks to Suzanne Owens and Helen Phillips who helped a lot with making sure the players were ready on time, and noting match results when I was busy elsewhere.

Emily Macaulay

Devon U13 Lead Coach

Devon U13 Team Challenge

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