NFL Flag Success
On Wednesday, a team of Year 6 children represented the school, county and East Midlands region at the NFL Flag National Championships! This was an amazing achievement and first in school history! The competition was organised by the NFL and took place at Loughborough University. The team had previously won at both county and regional level without losing a game.
Upon arrival, we were gifted a kit to represent the Minnesota Vikings. This would be the NFL team that we would be representing on the day and are now our school team for any future NFL events. The competition started with an incredibly tough game which saw the team lose their first ever game. After this, the team showed amazing resiliency to bounce back and win their next three games. Some of these games were tough and each member of the team showed great skill on offence and defence, amazing respect and sportsmanship and outstanding cooperation and teamwork to get the job done! After three wins in a row, the team qualified for the semi-final!
In the semi-final, the children worked and played incredibly hard and kept going and going even when it got tough. Unfortunately, the team was unable to get the win and did not advance to the final. In the 3rd place playoff, the team faced a well-matched school from Coventry and the game ended in a 12-12 tie. After a discussion between the coaches, it was decided that each school would share 3rd place due to the close nature of the game and how evenly the teams were matched.
This means that Woodland View finished 3rd overall at the National Level! This achievement is truly amazing! As a bonus, the children got the chance to meet and speak with NFL player, Travis Clayton. He was born in Basingstoke and currently plays Offensive Tackle for the Buffalo Bills. This was a wonderful experience and a chance for the children to meet one of the sports' newest stars!
We would like to thank all the parents for their amazing support on the day, making a huge difference with their wonderful support throughout the whole day. We would also like to thank the staff who have been involved in taking the children to the competitions and helping with training and preparing the children for each of the challenges they have faced.
And finally, the children. In the short space of 4 months, they have gone from novices to 3rd in the nation in a short space of time. They have given up after-school time, lunchtimes and break times in their pursuit of being the best they can be. We are so, so incredibly proud of what they have achieved and hope that they can continue to enjoy sport (in any form) in the future. Well done to each of you for this fantastic achievement!
