Sedgefield Water Polo Club are pleased to announce that our Under 16 mixed team were the winners of the Northern League Tournament held on Saturday 22nd June. The team, coached by current player Ben Alderson, won all five of their games, conceding just six goals all tournament and winning the event with an amazing 29 goal difference. This was an excellent outcome given the team only had three players of the correct age group, the remainder of the team were our younger members playing up age groups to gain match experience.
The first game against Tyldesley got the team off to a great start, with a very well deserved 9-3 win. This included a fantastic five goals from Gregor, a hat trick from Kyle and one from Owen.
The team went into their second game with much more confidence, knowing that some of the team had recently played Morley and won a league fixture. Again, three goals from Gregor, followed by two each from Tyler, Owen and Kyle gave the team a well-earned 9-1 win.
The next game was against the first of two Sheffield teams entered in the tournament, with Sheffield A being the stronger players and Sheffield B the development team. Sedgefield knew they had to win this game if they wanted to go home with medals. The first half of the game was much tougher than the first two games had been, but after a motivational team talk from Ben at half time, the team showed their determination and fighting spirit. One goal each from Charlie, Kyle, Gregor and Tyler gave the team a 4-1 win and again, their confidence and self-belief increased.
Sheffield B played next; after beating their A team, Sedgefield were confident of another win and continued to play to the best of their ability. Goals from Gregor, Indie, Kyle, Owen, Tyler, Bram and Harry gave a 9-1 win and a very strong chance of a medal at the end of the day.
The final game of the day was against our local ‘friends and rivals’ at Rotherham, who we often link up with for matches and tournaments. Again, another tougher game but Sedgefield came away winners with a 4-1 win after goals from Kyle, Theo, Charlie and Owen. This win also secured first place and gold medals for the team!
A huge well done to our young team on this fantastic result, and thank you to all the parents for making the drive to Rotherham on a really warm Saturday afternoon.
We’d also like to advise that we can now offer player sponsorships for just £30 per player for this season in return for regular advertising and promotion on our social media pages. If this is something that your business may be interested in, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. All monies raised through sponsorship will be used to allow our fantastic members the opportunity to develop their skills and provide them with the equipment they need in order to succeed in the sport.
Thank you to the following businesses for sponsoring some of our players:
• Coat-It – sponsors Owen
• Shafto Way Garage – sponsors Harry
• Stuart and Margaret Thomson – sponsors Bram
• Julies Pets and Reptiles – sponsors Aston
• MySchoolWellbeing – sponsors Indie
In addition to Junior and Senior sessions, Sedgefield Water Polo Club now offers a beginner session at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre on a Saturday afternoon for those wishing to try this fun and exciting sport. All sessions need to be booked in advance on our club app, so please check our website for further information and joining instructions, email sedgefieldwp@hotmail.com or contact 07579 030598.