Last Friday, our U11 football team travelled to the England Football Association National Training Centre in Burton-on-Trent to play in the ISA National 5-a-side Football Finals.
The team were representing the Midlands Region, after qualifying in the top four at the ISA tournament in Kidderminster last term.
26 teams, from ISA schools all over the country, competed in the Finals.
The facilities, as expected, were fantastic. The boys played really well against some top teams and after all the morning matches ended they were placed in the Shield play off. Playing against Ursuline Prep from Brentwood, the boys raced into an early 3-0 lead. Ursuline fought back and with a few minutes left to play levelled the match at 4-4. This set up a tense finish. An excellent side foot volley shot from Clarke off Jack’s corner struck the outside of the far post… so close. Two more corners and the ball came out towards Dominic who struck it beautifully …. GOAL! The boys had won the Shield Trophy 5-4. A superb end to a very memorable day.
We also met Darren Harris, a Paralympian Blind Footballer. He was born with normal vision, but at 15 months old was diagnosed with a condition that caused him to lose his eyesight. With 162 England team appearances and 10 world and European medals, his motto is “Be the best version of you.”
