Written by Mr Clegg
On a balmy May evening, as a reward for the dedication and commitment Year 9 & 10 netballers have shown through their time at Pleckgate, Mrs Ryding arranged a trip to watch Manchester Thunder V Saracens Mavericks at Belle Vue Sports Village.
Arriving at the venue Pleckgate shed their baggage, thanks to a very helpful steward, and enjoyed their tea on the grass outside. Some showed their support by having Thunder face paint. The pupils were instantly impressed by the speed and focus both teams were displaying in their warm ups, a good lesson for the future. The passing patterns the two teams were executing were mesmeric. Each pupil focused on the player in their usual position and learned key skills to apply to and improve their own game.
A light show and fireworks heralded the arrival of the teams on court to start the game. Saracens started faster putting Thunder under pressure but they showed resilience to claw their way back and lead 15-13 and the end of the first quarter. The reigning Super league champions class began to tell and by half time they led 32-26.
The Pleckgate group almost took the roof off at half time when they got a shout out and then danced to “YMCA” and blasted out “Sweet Caroline” with the rest of the crowd. Manchester continued their dominance to complete a 62-52 victory and maintain their almost perfect start to the season and top the table ahead of Loughborough Lightning.
On the way home, the sensational new girl group “Minibus Girls” serenaded the rest of the coach with a variety of hits (apologies to the people of Manchester and Bury and the cat they were strangling!!!). DJ Ryding and MC Ishtiaq entertained the bus scrolling through the DAB radio channels before settling on their favourite “Mom’s Spaghetti”!! Hopefully the trip has inspired the girls to keep working hard at their netball and emulate the success of the Manchester Thunder.
