Last Sunday, BHHC fielded teams from the Under 12 and Under 10 sections of the club at the Ron Easton Tournament. The juniors did BHHC proud, playing with great team spirit and coming away with big smiles, and even a few medals!

The Boys U12 tournament featured 7 teams from 5 different clubs - Mid Sussex, Chichester, South Downs joining 2 teams from Horsham & Brighton.

Brighton Reds fielded an unfamiliar line up, with one player making his Brighton debut. The team fought hard throughout the tournament, several players performed well in defence but the team struggled to make a impact in front of goal. Despite the results it was a valuable learning exercise for a set of players that due to a lack of opposition across the county do not get to play in matches as often as we would like.

The Blues had a very positive tournament, winning 3 games and drawing a further 3 to qualify for the final as group winners on goal difference. We scored 11 goals from 6 different players, conceding only 2. BHHC were never behind in any game with a 2-0 win v Chichester a particular highlight. The boys are starting to play an exciting brand of passing hockey that should have been rewarded with more goals. Despite the frustration of draws against Mid Sussex and South Down that should have been comfortable wins, the team secured a vital result a strong Horsham side to qualify and now have time to further improve ahead of the final in February.

Thank you to Atul for umpiring, Alan Grey for organising the tournament umpires (& reminding the coaches that it’s only a game), Gavin for providing admin support and Natalie for coaching the Red team.

Blue Team - Xavier M-W, Killian T-P, Harry A, Aaron P, Max T, Patrick F, Miles R, Louie P, Stanley L.

Red Team - Dexter H, George G, Fraser C, Paddy J, Callum S, Harrison H, Oscar W, Kiran N.

For the girls' side of the tournament, there were also seven teams playing a total of 21 games at Hurstpierpoint College on a chilly Sunday afternoon. Brighton, Burgess Hill and Horsham entered two teams and Mid Sussex entered one. BHHC entered the Blues and the Reds. The teams consisted of a mix of U10’s and U9’s, players.

The Reds fought hard and have the making of a great team. They lost three, drew two and won one, with their heaviest defeat (4-1) inflicted by none other than the Blues!

Eliza scored two of the goals and was awarded the Coaches player. The reds were a determined side and fought hard to play their best. Beatrix worked tirelessly to run into space, and Julianna excelled in defence.

The Blues won four, lost one and drew one and were Runners Up in the festival. Livvy was awarded the Coaches player or her excellent contribution to the team which included three goals. Izzy, Tessa and Sorrell scoring the other goals.

It was a fantastic tournament. All of the girls worked hard and were willing to experiment in different positions, including goalkeeper. Big shout out to those girls volunteering to be GK - Sophie, Honey and Josie, Elise, Genevieve and Ines.

Thanks also go Nick for his help and all those parents who helped change GK over at lightening speed!

The Blues:

Won 2-0 V Burgess Hill Blues.

Lost 1-0 V Horsham 1’s.

Won 2-1 V Mid Sussex.

Drew 1-1 V Burgess Hill Yellows.

Won 5-1 V Brighton Reds.

Won 2-1 V Horsham 2’s.

The Reds:

Drew 1-1 V Horsham 2’s.

Lost 1-0 V Mid Sussex.

Won 1-0 V Burgess Hill Blue.

Lost 5-1 V Brighton Blues.

Drew 0-0 V Burgess Hill Yellows.

Lost 1-0 V Horsham 1’s.