Ladies 1XI secure promotion to the National Conference

Posted by Amy MacKenzie on 24 April 2020

East London Ladies 1XI, sponsored by Rebuild Sports Clinic, are crowned East Premier League Champions and have secured promotion into National Conference East for the 2020/21 season. They are the first East London team to reach the England Hockey National Leagues in the club’s history. The team have secured back-to-back promotions following a successful 2018/19 season that saw the team crowned East Division 1S Champions and England Hockey Tier 2 Semi-finalists.

The Ladies' rise to the top of the East Premier League began right from the beginning of the season where they secured 7 consecutive wins in their first 7 games in the East Premier Division. With continued form, the Ladies found themselves sitting at the top of the League with 5 games left to play. Two crucial victories over 2nd place, local rivals Wapping (4-1) and 3rd place City of Peterborough (3-1) helped the girls clinch the title with one game of the season left to play. The ladies were crowned East Premier Division Champions after securing 17 wins, 3 draws and only 1 loss, finishing with 85.71% of points played, 6.34% above 2nd place. The team scored 58 goals and conceded 17, leaving them with an incredible goal difference of 41, 12 goals higher than 2nd place. This is no doubt the teams’ greatest achievement to date and the club is very proud to have a team reach the England Hockey National Conference.

L1s secure promotion to National Conference

Captain, Renske Pesch, describes her team's success, “I am so incredibly proud to have been part of this journey. When we were promoted last year, we were confident that we could stand our ground in this league, but I don’t think a lot of people would have expected this result. The majority of this team has been together for quite a while, and it’s fantastic to see how much we’ve helped each other grow. After 3 years of dedicating most of his free time to the team, it’s fantastic that we can say goodbye to Andy (coach) with a second championship under his belt.”

Karen Allan, who has played with the Ladies 1XI for 8 seasons, commented, “The Ladies 1s success over the years and our promotion through from East Division 2 to the National Conference is a testament to the consistency of attitude and approach to our hockey and our team, both on and off the pitch. I am extremely proud to be part of this team and that all of our hard work has paid off. I can’t wait to get stuck into our exciting new season!”

Charlotte Wastall sheds light on what it is like to be one of the newest members in the squad, “This season has exceeded all my expectations! As a new member of the club, the team was so welcoming and it has been so amazing to have played with so many talented players. I have learnt so much and I cannot wait for next season. It is very exciting to be going up into a new league, which we accept will be a big challenge, with such a high-spirited team. The girls are amazing and I’m sure we will do ourselves proud.”

Kerry Inman-Rollin, who captained the side to victory last season, praises the new management team, “Renske was focused on getting to the National Conference from game 1 this season and the management team have worked hard to support us every step of this journey. The coaches and captains have pushed us when we needed it, offered support in a multitude of ways and most importantly they have taken it one game at a time which was key to our weekly success. It's such a huge achievement that I am so proud to have been part of - we know we aren't professionals but anyone who plays amateur sport will know what it feels like when your achievements exceed your expectations!”

Ladies 1s 2019-20

When commenting on the team's success, Head Coach Andy Moncur said, “Where do you start when describing the journey that the Ladies 1XI have been on? It has to be the end goal, securing National League status for the 2020/21 season (Covid-19 allowing)!  Every week striving for improvement, every week striving for more goals – and that is what they delivered. The stats don’t lie. An incredible 17 games won and 58 goals scored. The hard work that the team put in over the season is reflected in their position in the league, and this has been shown by the leadership of Renske Pesch (captain) and Ailish Hendry (vice captain), but also the dedication of the whole squad attending training, week in, week out. A massive shout out to Renske and Ailish for keeping me grounded, to Juan Frederico (fitness coach) for keeping the girls running, and of course, to Mark Prince (assistant coach) for bringing in new ideas and challenging me and the squad to be better. I think that it’s fair to say that I’m not just proud of this squad, but super stoked on how they’ve grown and what they’ve achieved. There is only one thing left to say, I wish the girls all the very best with the National League, enjoy it, embrace it and then smash it!”

Andy has made the decision to step down as Ladies 1XI Head Coach after 3 successful seasons with the team. The girls thank him for all his hard work and dedication that resulted in two league titles and an England Hockey semi-final and wish him all the best of luck with his next endeavors. If you are interested in applying for the role as Ladies 1XI Head Coach, please click here for more details.

The Ladies 1XI will be working hard over the summer to ensure they are prepared for their next challenge in the National Conference. The ladies thank their hard working coaches, captains and their sponsors Rebuild Sports Clinic who have each contributed to the teams’ success this season. If you would like to follow the teams’ journey into the National Conference, you can find them on Instagram. If you are interested in joining the club, please click here.

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