Team Sports Awards 2021/2022

The Men’s Football season was a tough season this year.  Both teams were mainly of a Year 1 contingent so with a new intake of students for the 2022 / 23 season, hopefully both teams will have more strength in depth within the squads.  It was great to return to the Cambridge University Men’s League this season where we get to play on some fantastic pitches.  The Cambs Sixth Form League returned as well with more teams than the previous couple of seasons, so hopefully this will continue to grow moving forward.  With a set of mixed results this year, we are all looking forward to adding a new year group of players to go with our current players moving into Year 2 and competing towards the top end of the table in both leagues.

This season for Long Road Rugby has on the whole been a really successful one. I was worried about the season ahead back in September as I knew we only had around 8 boys from the previous year 1 going into Year 2. We were fortunate enough to pick up a number of boys for the first few training sessions and travelled for our first match to Easton College with a very raw squad of 15. It was a tough trip losing 80-17 but this was a foundation we have grown and developed on ALL season. The biggest challenge for us at Long Road Rugby is trying to bond a group of boys who have arrived from different schools and play for different clubs at the weekend.

I just wanted to finish by saying that the Squad has really developed and grown and it has on the whole been a great season for Long Road Rugby making memories along the way and both Mike and I are REALLY looking forward to 2022/23. For those boys leaving Long Road onto pastures new I personally hope you have enjoyed your Rugby at Long Road and we have made some great memories together. I wish you well for the future and hope that you continue your Rugby journey in what ever that may be.

A mixed year starting with more players than we had ever had and running 2 teams. We had some great games, with competitive games in the league and tournaments. A period of no matches resulted in a lack of momentum and we struggled fielding a squad in fixtures, often going to matches with only 7 players! The team always played hard, we have some very talented players, but it was difficult to win games against oppositions with squads of 10, who could bring on ‘fresh legs’. I have really enjoyed leading the team, who are a great bunch of girls, supporting each other and having fun. I can even forgive them for constantly nagging me to stop at McDonalds! Isla and Phoebe, my co-captains were a vital support to me and the team throughout the season – great players, good communicators and knowledgeable about netball.

Having not been able to field a side for the 20/21 season due to a lack of players, 21/22 saw a huge uptick in participation with a core of 15-20 players attending every week for training, mixed and female fixtures against sides such as Hills Road, Saffron Walden County High, Cambridge University, Oaklands and Colchester SFC.

We were extremely competitive throughout the season despite the general high standard of opposition.  A number of players improved significantly and we formed a really cohesive and highly committed unit led by two amazing captains, Owen Carford & Lucie Swann. 

Having coached hockey at Long Road for over 15 years I can honestly say that whilst results didn’t always go our way this group have been the most coachable, committed and inclusive squad I’ve had the pleasure to be involved with.

Our Women’s Football team have had a very successful season.  They won the AoC Sport Eastern Region 7 a-side tournament, remaining unbeaten for the whole competition, to qualify for the AoC Sport National Championships.  This took place just after Easter, over a long weekend where the girl’s came up against teams such as West Bromwich Albion Academy, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion as well as other college regional winners across the country.  It was a really tough competition in which the girl’s finished 8^th out of 10^th.  This is a huge achievement considering that our college team only train / play fixtures once a week and are not all playing in teams outside of college.

On top of being the 7 a-side Eastern Region champions, our women’s team also managed to win their 11 a-side ECFA East Women’s Regional League.  It went down to the last game of the season, at home VS CRC (Cambridge United Scholars) in which Long Road prevailed 3 – 0 winners.  They finished the league campaign with 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

This particular group of players have been one of the best Women’s Football teams we have had at Long Road.  Not just because of the football success they have had this season but also the togetherness of the players.  Always looking out for / supporting each other both in and out of the football team.  They all get along and enjoy the social aspect of being involved in college sport.

Great Awards afternoon at Long Road Sixth Form College with our academy squad celebrating one of its most successful seasons to date. Finishing 4th position in the ABL as well as East Region AOC Champions and finishing 7th at the AOC Nationals U18s Finishing 2nd in the NBL as part of Cambridge Cats Basketball U18s NBL Squad. A fantastic Season, congratulations everyone.