Hockey at Bedford School has got off to a strong start this season with an excellent first block against Magdalen College School which saw some tight and fiercely contested games, battled in a great spirit. Our Senior 3rd team scooped their first win of the season and a special mention must go to Lower Sixth Former Sam Blakemore, who played both games for the 2nds and the 3rds in his first appearance in goal.
The block fixture against Oundle was high-spirited, perhaps because we were joined by many of the parents and past hockey coaches of the school following a special lunch to mark the opening of our new Astro pitch. Lots of close matches were played throughout the day and a member of staff from Oundle commented that our boys were polite, well-mannered and had a great attitude and sportsmanship throughout their game. The U16As showed great grit and determination to keep their lead to achieve a hard-fought win. The 2nd XI continued their fine start to the season with a 4-1 win and a strong performance. The 1st XI got off to a good start with a strong 8-2 win, but with areas to improve upon. We saw a huge improvement from the U15As, but unfortunately they lost their game 1-0. Keen to improve, the boys asked for an extra training session to put them in a strong place ahead of their cup match – something they felt they needed and so they arranged this off their own backs. The U14As won their second game in a row and continue to impress having only just made the jump from seven a side to eleven a side.
The frosty weather lost us a few home games for the Felsted fixture, but we managed to play all away games. The 1st XI lost their first game of the season in the Independent Schools Cup vs Repton 6-2, a tough lesson where the boys were forced into errors in the first half and Repton were very clinical in front of goal and scored five. Their coach said he could not believe his luck at half time and commented that the score was not a true reflection of the game at all, so quite a tough one to take. 
We were also delighted to welcome back Eton School to our calendar of block fixtures. Our teams showed great determination winning four and drawing one out of their nine games played – a great result against such a big and prolific school.
Director of Hockey Mr Samuel Mee said, “Overall we’ve had a strong start to the season with some great wins and superb play, but also a few hard-to-swallow losses. Credit to the boys – they have learnt lessons, built up their game and are developing into stronger players as a result, and we go into the second half of the season more experienced and more determined than ever.”
Cup matches continue and after becoming county champions, our U14B team will now play in the Regional Final which takes place on Thursday 28 February at Cambridge City Hockey Club.
If you would like to keep up to date with Hockey at Bedford School, then you can follow our Twitter account @bedfordschoolhc.