Hook youngster shines in School Games Finals

The School Games National Finals took place at Loughborough University between Thursday and Sunday with Hook’s Sophie Peck taking part in the netball competition.

The fourteen-year-old Abbey School pupil was part of the Surrey Storm team which finished in third place overall in the tournament.

The Surrey Storms played against Manchester Thunder in a bid for the bronze medal. The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout the game, with the score being in favour of Manchester Thunder by just one point after the first half.

Manchester Thunder managed to gain a four point lead after the third quarter; however Surrey Storms were able to climb back and win with a final score of 24-23.

Of her performance, Sophie said: “I’m so proud of our time. We didn’t buckle under pressure; we kept up the intensity, it was so close. Sometimes we were falling back, but we brought it back and I’m just so proud of everyone doing their best.”

Julie House, head coach of Surrey Storms, said: “We did twelve weeks training beforehand, and throughout these four days we feel like we’ve got to know them all a lot better and they’ve grown every day, performing better each time.

“We’re really pleased they’ve got the bronze medal. Playing the final match we were at our best I think, and actually we all kept calm under pressure and I think that’s what helped us win it.”

Assistant coach, Beverley Bostock, added: “That last match they put everything on the court when it mattered and I’m so proud of them.”

Now in its 13th year, the event, featuring over 1,000 school-age athletes, saw some of the most talented schoolchildren from across the UK compete in 11 different sports.

Some of Britain’s biggest sporting stars have previously competed at the School Games before going onto international success, including Ellie Simmons, Jonnie Peacock, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Peaty.

Over 200 graduates of the School Games Finals competed at this year’s Commonwealth Games, winning 85 medals.