20/20 Cricket hits Newcastle-under-Lyme College

Newcastle-under-Lyme College played its first 20-20 cricket match of the season at Keele University  vs Sandwell College – the previous two games being cancelled due to the weather. NULC batted first and amassed a massive 189 – 7 with Kieron Bedford hitting 102. Sandwell were then bowled out for 51 with Harvey Collins taking 4 wickets.

The college is competing in the British Colleges Sport West Midlands North Division which will then progress into a play-off system with the south of the region.

You can keep up to date with the progress of the college at the link below:

http://bcsregionalt20.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp 

Students and teams recognised at Borough Council Sports Awards

Newcastle-under-Lyme College Academy of Sport Students and teams were recognised on Thursday 23^rd May by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council at their annual sports council awards. The awards were split into 4 different categories:

Individuals, Administrators, coaches and teams.

The Academy of Sport had 2 students nominated in the senior individual section, England ladies football under 19 captain Sherry McCue and England ladies football under 19 Goalkeeper Emily Horton. It was Sherry that came out triumphant as she was named Senior Individual Sports Person of the Year.

In the team category the Academy of Sport as a whole, and the ladies college football squad were nominated due to the incredible success that they have had this year. It was the ladies squad who won the award which is thoroughly deserved after being crowned national champions and West Midlands League Winners.

The ceremony which was hosted at the Civic Offices in Newcastle-under-Lyme was attended by Academy players Dominique Ford Gordon, Abbie Jackson, Jade Boulton and Sherry McCue.

The awards add to what has already been the college’s most successful year in participation, competition and trophies won.

Basketball squads excel at National 3 v 3 Championships

NULC took both the Ladies’ and Men’s basketball teams to the Nottingham Wildcats Arena to play 3 vs. 3 tournaments. Each team took on opponents ranging from Derby to London, after playing numerous matches both teams finished the tournament with smiles on their faces.

Both teams only went into this tournament with one goal which was to have fun, however for the lads things turned serious when them and both coach Jamison realised they could win. After only losing one game by a staggering 1 point the lads had achieved much more than they expected and became national champions.

For the ladies’ they played their matches with a range of results they won some, lost some and drew a couple. After playing a 9 minute 50 second match the last 10 seconds were to decide the winner.

Unfortunately the girls were unsuccessful and couldn’t stop derby from scoring their free- throw point which gave them the game. Unsuccessful the girls still left with massive smiles on their faces after securing silver medals, this was an exceptional performance from them as they have only every played once before and had no training. For NULC it was a very good and successful day and all coaches were very proud!

NULC Shine at National Athletics Championships

Sixteen NULC students competed against other colleges from all over the country in the BCS National Athletic Championships at Gateshead International Stadium yesterday and returned a haul of 10 medals with Lucy Hayes leading the way with a Gold Medal in the Ladies 800m. James Taylor won Silver in the 110m hurdles and bronze in the 100m with Chris Foster returning silver in the triple jump and Liam Hebbelthwaite a bronze in the 200m. Jaydene Thompson won bronze in both ladies 100m and 200m. Despite horrendous conditions in torrential rain and gale force winds both the mens 4x 100m and 4x 400m relay teams medalled with bronze and silver respectively. This yet again cements NULC Sport Academy as amongst the best in the country!

NULC STARS Squad Trip to the Velodrome

NULC STARS Squad - Trip to the Velodrome April 2013.
 

Newcastle-under-Lyme STARS Squad members along with Deb O’Neill and Keith Harrison went to the Manchester Velodrome, home of British cycling for the day on Monday 15 April.  They had an hour on the track, coached by a British Cycling coach in the art of track cycling.  
 
Our own STARS squad member, Sallie Birchall, is a regular at the track with her cycling training programme and she showed the rest of the squad how it is done, on her own bike.  The rest of the squad quickly took to riding up the banked slopes and showed their natural sporting ability sprinting around the track.  Sarah Mainwaring had a slight fall, but being a World Champion at Kickboxing, quickly got back on her bike to continue the session.
 
At lunch, the squad went into the BMX arena to find the GB riders training for the first world competition being held at the venue.  Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips practised their starts and jumps over the track.  At the weekend both Reade and Phillips created an historic double-double for Great Britain at the first round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester, winning both Friday's time trial and Saturday's main event.

After lunch, the squad were given a tour of the arena and realised how steep the banking on the cycle track was from the spectator view, where they had just been riding!  Sallie Birchall and Connor Grimes went head to head in a Watt Bike session, where Team GB regularly train to maximum.  It was interesting to see how the arena is used for other sports, including Badminton, Basketball, Indoor Rowing and Netball.  It demonstrates how a facility can be shared between elite athletes and members of the local community in a profit making way, ensuring the future of such high standard facilities will be maintained.
 
Then the squad were fortunate to see some of the Team GB track team train on the track where they had just been training.  Phillip Hindes and Becky James and were just two of the superstars on show.  Hindes won the team sprint with Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy at the London 2012 Olympic Games and received an MBE.  James is tipped to surpass Victoria Pendleton’s success.  In the 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships she gained two Gold and two Bronze medals, making her the first Briton to win four medals in one World Championships competition.  It was also interesting to see a Paralympic athlete train with the Olympic athletes -the Disability Programme runs alongside the able bodied Programmes and it has the sole aim of winning Paralympic Gold medals.

All the squad members thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the experience of training in a World Class facility.  Our next trip will hopefully be on the BMX track for a similar experience.
 
To find out more about the STARS Squad contact Deb O’Neill deborah.o'neill@nulc.ac.uk.

STARS FITNESS SESSION 3

MONDAY 22 APRIL 2013

12 STARS Squad members took part in their third and final fitness testing session at the Gordon Banks Sports Centre.    Matt Berrisford, Sports Scientist for the Academy of Sport, took the group through a series of aerobic tests to identify strengths and weaknesses within each athlete.  The session was held on the College 3G pitch and the tests included the Illinois Agility Test, the Agility Test and two sprint tests to measure power and speed.

Adam Jones and Sophie Goodfellow excelled in the boys and girls groups.

Then the squad went into a classroom with Deb O’Neill to complete a sports competition anxiety test (SCAT) to look at how they feel in a competitive situation and determine their level of anxiety when competing in their sport.  The squad were given information on how to reduce their level of anxiety prior to a competition in order to achieve more success.  This will be an on-going process.  Following discussions with the squad, more sessions on psychology of sport will take place in September.

College students get to play at Lords at Indoor 24 Competition

A group of 8 sport students attended the National Indoor 24 finals in April after winning the indoor regional tournament. Two members of the team had played Cricket at a regional level before but the rest of the team were inexperienced and had either never or hardly played before.

When the students arrived at the venue thet were straight into warm up and our the first game which they came away successful, this was then followed by 4 consecutive matches.

The students performed well as a team and enjoyed the overall experience of playing in a top class venue in a sport that they enjoiyed.

After the matches were complete the students went for a tour of the stadium and received their west midlands champions regional medals.

Overall everybody loved the day and the experience and all of us are going to continue cricket within college or outside.

Celebrating Sport - British Colleges Sport- College Sport Week

British Colleges Sport are hosting the first ever College Sport Week that sees its annual conference being held during a week of sport activity which includes the BCS National Cup and Plate finals which showcase the top teams in England and Wales.

The event is taking place at St George’s Park and other local sporting facilities during this week - April 29th to May 3rd.

The event is run in partnership with the AoC and Sport England and supported by The FA, RFU, EFDS, Burton Mail and Burton and South Derbyshire College.

The week will host 4 individual conferences which include Football on Tuesday, Rugby Union on Wednesday, Sports Development in Colleges on Thursday and concludes on the Friday with Developing Inclusive Sport.  Running alongside these conferences will be celebration events which showcase the sport taking place in colleges.

As well as focusing on college sport we will also have college students from Burton & South Derbyshire College supporting the event with input from their Creative Media, Hospitality and Catering and Travel and Tourism students.  The students will work alongside the BCS National Volunteers from its Youth Council and Team19 SMT.

Richard Burley, Vice Principal Curriculum at BSDC said: “This is exactly the kind of exposure to the world of work we like to provide for our learners.  We’re delighted that BCS have chosen to partner our College and support our innovative approach to engaging teaching and helping our young people to learn and grow. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to support a great event.”

In the BCS Cup and Plate Finals teams will descend on St George’s Park to take part in Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby Union and Volleyball.

In addition BCS are delighted to announce the inductees of our new Hall of Fame at our celebration Gala Dinner taking place on Wednesday 1 May 2013.  The Hall of Fame celebrates the work of British Colleges Sport and the College Sector.  A Virtual Hall of Fame will be set up on the BCS website and each year BCS will add to the membership by inducting administrators, athletes and lecturers that have given exemplary service to College Sport.

As well as the Hall of Fame we will be celebrating the worthy winners of the College of the Year and
Student of the Year Awards.

Newcastle-under-Lyme College Students play at St Georges Park as part of TEAM 19

On Tuesday 30th April 6 students from Newcastle-under-Lyme college were invited to take part in an exhibition tournament at St Georges Park, home of the England football squads. They were invited as part of British Colleges Sport Week and demonstrated the effectiveness of TEAM 19.

TEAM19 is the new free football programme for colleges by ECFA and BCS.
With a philosophy of football for students, by students, TEAM19 has become an instant hit with students, colleges and partners alike!

TEAM19 Football can take place in any college regardless of size, roll call or facilities. The football is flexible to suit the needs of the college, with TEAM19 Leagues taking place across the county in various formats such as 5v5, 7v7, 11v11 and Futsal.

With clear benefits associated with creating a healthy and vibrant college environment, healthy competition with students and clear progression routes for students who play and volunteer, TEAM19 is perfect for any college!

Any student, on any course, can play in a TEAM19 league as well, with male, female and disability leagues being delivered. TEAM19 is for anyone regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, caring responsibilities or ability! The focus is on the fun, social side of football so is a great opportunity to get involved and get active!

Newcastle-under-Lyme Colleges TEAM 19 programme takes place on Thursday afternoons in the form of a 7-a-side football league.

Well done lads.

TEAM:NULC Sports Results- Tuesday 30th April 2013

This week has seen the college men’s Basketball and volleyball squads compete in national cup finals, and it proved to be a mixed set of results. The basketball squad came up against formidable opposition in the form of Plymouth Raiders who are linked to a professional basketball team. It proved to be a game too far after what has been a hugely successful season, losing 94-56.

The mixed and men’s volleyball squads came up against the same college in both finals, PETROC from Devon. It has been a frantic morning as a number of the team were flown back from France that morning and only just made the start of the men’s final. It proved to have an effect as they lost 2 sets to 1. The same players had to pick themselves up for the mixed final and proved their quality, winning 2 sets to 1.

A massive congratulations has to go to all staff and students as they have worked extremely hard all year. As the saying goes you have to be in it to win it, and Newcastle-under-Lyme College is certainly in it as we continue to make national finals.

Onwards and upwards for 2013/14

Results for Tuesday 30^th April 2013

§  Men’s Basketball (away)- TEAM:NULC 56-94 Plymouth Raiders YMCA

§  Men’s Volleyball (away)- TEAM:NULC 1-2 PETROC College

§  Mixed Volleyball (away)- TEAM:NULC 2-1 PETROC College

Performance of the week

The performance of the week has to go to all the students and staff who took part in finals this week. Well done to all!!!