Four Woodham Academy students recently represented the region in a country wide Water Polo tournament. Year 7 students, Ben Alderson and Ryan-Jay Griffiths and Year 9 student, Niall Coulthard represented the North East U14 boys in a two day tournament held in Walsall. The North East Steelers team consisted of 11 players from the region, which covers as far as Sheffield, with three young hopefuls from Newton Aycliffe. The team was selected following a two hour trial in Rotherham back in October. The Steelers played brilliantly on the day and came away with second place out of ten teams who competed in the inter-region tournament.
The team also won their group and were undefeated. The semi-final of the tournament went to penalties and the team won on penalties, but lost out in the final to the North West Tigers who were a more experienced team. Niall Coulthard was awarded the Most Valuable Player which is a fantastic achievement as this award is decided by the coaches of the opposition based on all matches played. Water Polo is a passion for the three sportsmen who between them train over 19 times a week. Their commitment and dedication to water polo is evident, showing that hard work pays off. Year 9 student, Poppy Stephenson also represented the U14 North East girls the weekend before the boys’ team competed. Poppy’s team finished in 5th place
