Ashford started the 2021/22 season competing in the new and reorganised England Hockey South East league structure, with two U14 Girls teams; one in the T2 League and one in T4. In addition, we also competed in the England Hockey Club Cup knock-out tournament. Significant inertia with EH to organise T4 league matches, and eventual collapse of the T4 league itself in December, meant we didn’t get anywhere near as many of the girls playing competitive matches as we would have liked, but substantial effort by coaches and club to organise games directly with other clubs did at least mean we got all those who wanted to play into several friendly matches against Marden, Maidstone, and against our own U12 Girls. Lessons have been learnt here and we will do our very best to avoid the same circumstances next season. Ashford is, and remains an inclusive club, and whilst we will continue to select for teams based on the types of fixtures, the level and ability of the opposition, and the availability of the squad on the day, we will strive to make sure that all girls are playing in teams and matches that will both develop and challenge.

England Hockey Club Cup
There is an extra level of excitement with cup matches; the randomness of the draw as to whom you play, and knowing that only a win will allow you to progress, with the added pressure of penalty shuffles in the event of a draw. Ashford made good progress this year through the knockout rounds of the cup, exiting after round 3. First up was an away game at Canterbury which is always a tough draw, but with a level of determination not often seen, Ashford went out and won 6-0.
Second round was a home game against Folkestone who were on a run of good results in their T3 league having won all their games, however, Ashford had a comfortable 3-0 win over their rivals.
Third round was away against Marden which was a very tense affair. Marden were deservedly top of T2 league having won all of their games, and this was to be a very tough test for Ashford. Although Ashford created chances, much of the possession was dominated by Marden in the Ashford half. But Ashford defence was strong and Marden were also unable to find a way to score. End of normal time the score stood 0-0 and penalty shuffles had to decide a winner. We shouldn’t underestimate the amount of pressure on striker or keeper in a one-on-one with only 8 seconds to score, and I truly admire all those that stepped up to shoot. Despite a very close and emotional shoot out, it was Marden who progressed to the next round.

South East T2 League (East).
The T2 league matches have been highly competitive. Despite some score lines suggesting otherwise, there have been no easy games at all, and our team has had to continually develop and improve to play at this level. The league started as a triangular format, with three teams playing each other over three games. The format of course was flawed as the home team would always choose to play games 1 and 3, ensuring they had the best part of an hour break between games, whereas each visiting team would play two matches back-to-back. Ashford learnt this the hard way in our first fixture away at Canterbury. Our first game was a comfortable win against Sevenoaks, but even though we had a bright start and were arguably the better side against a strong Canterbury A side, going straight into a second game with almost no rest, we simply witnessed our girls run out of steam halfway through, and Canterbury ran away with a 3-0 win. During December, the league was slimmed down and reorganised to ensure we played one full regular game, much to the support of all clubs involved. However, many jokes also went round the clubs about having to hire Chief Science Officers and enigma machines to decrypt the umpteen match schedule spreadsheets issued by EH with their three letters and colour codes meaning even the brightest brains didn’t have much of a clue as to who was playing whom and where the next matches should be taking place. Nevertheless, collectively we got it all sorted, and the league has been a success playing a full season of 12 games; home and away against 6 clubs. It has also been a pleasure to watch Ashford develop as a team through each game. We have consciously fed back areas of potential improvement into training sessions, and each game we see those improvements on the pitch. Half time talks are always constructive with the girls always contributing about how to change things for the next half an hour. Their tactical skills to read the game have significantly grown since the start of the season, showing that they can see areas of weakness and opportunities, and have the understanding as to how to best exploit them. Levels of technical skills, physical strength, and determination have improved across the entire group; we are now seeing pitch length long passes, drag flicks, and aerials. Shooting in the D has more power and less hesitation. Playing out from the back looks much more comfortable, and our press has become quite special. Overall though, it is the way they gel as a team that makes the U14s difficult to play against. In our last game of the season, the opposition clearly had some very gifted and technically strong individual players that were a match for us, but our ability to play as a unit, both in and out of possession, prevented any significant threats and we were able to win comfortably. Feedback from opposition coaches and umpires has always been pleasingly positive, with one umpire declaring the match against Epsom being the most exciting game he had seen this season. Not bad praise at all, given that that game was a 0-0 draw!
Climax to the season was the penultimate game against the then league leaders Canterbury. It was a thrilling game for the neutral, but nail-biting stuff for any Ashford supporter, as it was neck and neck right to the final whistle, but it was Ashford who took a 3-2 lead, and GK Tamsin made an outstanding save from the very last-minute Canterbury penalty corner, to give Ashford the win. Ashford leapfrogged Canterbury to take top spot in the league, and followed by another win in the final game at Tunbridge Wells, meant Ashford are league winners.

T2 Finals
T2 East League winners Ashford and runners up Canterbury, travelled to Aldershot to play the winners and runners up of T2 West league, Guildford and Aldershot, in the T2 cross over Finals. Ashford's opening game against Aldershot finished a reasonably comfortable 4-0 win, and with Guildford narrowly beating Canterbury in their opening game, the Finals' Final was to be Guildford v Ashford. Of course this was to be a close game, but it was Ashford who took the lead in the first half, and even though Guildford ramped up the pressure in the second half, Ashford defence stood strong and saw the game out for a 1-0 win. A phenomenal end to the season with Ashford finishing league winners and finals winners!

Players of the season
All who have played in the teams have significantly raised their game this season, and we are very proud of the progress they have all made. These improvements have been not only been noticed by the coaches but also by their peers, as the group voted and nominated 10 girls for this season’s ‘Most Improved Player’, and 6 players were nominated for ‘Player of the Season’.
Most Improved Player: Matilda Owen
Player of the Season: Anna Makin

My sincere thanks go to Carys for all her support at matches and training sessions, John Taylor for umpiring at nearly every home and away game, Michael for his support through the season to help organise us and opponents and arrange matches, Adam Fox for quality training sessions every Tuesday, and every single one of the girls in the U14 section who have been an absolute pleasure to work with.