Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

41 I began my sporting journey at the School in the First Year, where boys’ and girls’ sport seemed rather segregated. However, for the last couple of years it has been amazing to see a girls’ cricket and football team, and events like the girls vs boys netball competition happening. The School has really integrated sport and taken down the stereotypical barrier that society typically faces. As a First Year I kept my options open, taking part in a variety of sports. Each day was a new training session for a different activity, from swimming to cross country, all to find which of them I would be drawn towards by the end of the year. The Second Year had come along and I had already narrowed my sports down to netball and hockey in the winter and rounders and athletics in the summer (the typical female Brentwood athlete’s favourites). I was lucky enough to be put forward to train with the Essex hockey team, which I soon realised maybe wasn’t my best strength compared to other girls my age, so decided to keep hockey solely at a school level, which as a team and with the positivity from the coaches, we still were successful and picked ourselves back up from our losses. Next was athletics, a highlight was getting through to the Nationals which hadn't been done for a while, and of course getting a new kit to celebrate (every Brentwood's sportsman’s/ woman's dream!) Lastly, the sport that has always driven me since primary school has been netball. Mrs Juniper coached me throughout my time here at Brentwood and put me forward for the Essex Academy in the Second Year. I started at Satellite (the lowest level in the England Pathway), then progressed to County level. In the Fifth Year I began to train with the Surrey Storm U19 team and this year training with the London Pulse Academy. Of course aside from the positives, there are some drawbacks in sport which I have experienced first-hand for example, losing out on National finals this year in netball by a matter of goals and in the past coming second by a singular shot, which for me is difficult to jump back from as I am one of the shooters (GA) in the team, meaning goals being scored is partially my job. It is hard to swallow but at the end of the fall, it makes you a better athlete than you started out to be and I take each failure as the next step in my learning process. Finally, one of Mrs Juniper’s (the quote guru’s) favourite quotes that portrays this nicely is “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement” ~ M.Biondi. By Anna Reeves My Sporting Journey Anna Reeves