Lingfield Take On Dutch Teams In 5-day Sports Tour!

Published by Lingfield College on Sunday 23rd of April 2023

Lingfield students thoroughly enjoyed a combined Boys’ Football and Girls’ Hockey trip to Holland over the Easter break.

On Easter Sunday, 94 students from Years 7-10 and 9 staff travelled to Eindhoven for a 5-day tour. We departed Lingfield by coach in the early hours and were fortunate enough to avoid the long delays at Dover, taking an earlier ferry to Dunkirk. The smooth journey was improved further by a full English courtesy of the ferry company, much to student and staff delight!

Hockey
We had three squads – U13, U14, U15. The girls received coaching by the top class coaches at Hc Orangje Rood, with sessions that really put the girls through their paces and developed their skill sets. The U13 Girls’ played a tough HC Mierlo side playing 11 aside together for the first time. Despite the weather the girls really stepped up, and it has left them in a good position to start the season at school in September.

The U14 and U15 girls both played HC Helmond; the U15s battled hard throughout and despite the loss, the girls matched them in intensity to make the game competitive. The U14s continued their impressive season, with an end- to-end game finishing in 1-1 draw.

Football
We had four squads. Years 7 & 8 formed two U13 teams, and years 9 & 10 formed two U15 teams. The boys received two extended training sessions over two days from PSV coaches at the very impressive team training facilities. The dynamic sessions led by the highly qualified coaches provided a real insight into how professional players train. In addition, the boys were lucky enough to do a stadium tour of PSV, finishing in the club shop where numerous kits and merchandise were purchased!

As expected, we received warm welcomes from our Dutch opponents when we pitted our skills against some local teams. Although our U13Bs were beaten comfortably, our U13As won 6-2, our U15Bs drew 2-2 and our U15As narrowly won an exciting encounter 2-1. All the boys thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing abroad in a country renowned for its football excellence.

As well as the jam-packed sporting schedule sport, students were also able to do some shopping in the city centre as well as bowling in the evening. Overall, the tour was a great success, and the students look forward to putting their skills into action in the winter term.