End Of Season Review 2006/07

Well, that’s Vikings’ first season over already, and what a season it has been.

 It all started last summer, when Lee decided to start a new club in Ely.  With a few people who knew Lee from his Lions days, and a few newcomers who had heard about the new venture in the newspapers, Vikings had their first training session in August.  It was great to see people turn up who had never played korfball before, and it wasn’t long before the game was starting to make sense, and a team was starting to form.

 Our first game came around quickly, in October, away at Phoenix.  The team featured five players in their first ever match, and although the score showed a comfortable win for Phoenix, Vikings played well in their first match, and showed great signs of potential.  They even scored three goals (trivia fans should note that Martin scored Vikings first ever goal).

 The first win came surprisingly quickly.  Before the end of October, Vikings’ second team picked up their first victory away at Tigers in the development league.  Sam scored both the goals in the 2-0 win.

 By the end of the year, Vikings had fielded 18 players and membership numbers were growing.  Training sessions had also increased from 1 hour to 2 hours.  And Vikings 1 had picked up three points in division 2, thanks mainly to a Mo hat trick against City, and a thrilling 7-7 draw with Tigers.

 Our christmas social was a bowling night in Ely, organised by our social secretaries Annette and Amy.  The 70s themed event was won by Rob, both in best dressed and highest score.

 The new year saw another influx of new players, with membership nearing 50 (including junior members).  Vikings 2 drew with Uni in January, Team 1 beat City in February, and Vikings 2 picked up 2 good wins in March, including a victory over local rivals Lions 4.  By now the teams were playing really good korfball and gelling well together.  Different combinations and divisions were tried, and people were starting to get to know how each other play.  Vikings 1 won their last two games of the season, finishing fifth in the league – an impressive feat for such a new team.

 Around this time, our home venue saw a new scoreboard erected, donated to the school by Vikings, and Rob was named as first team captain.  We also saw our U13 team play matches against Norwich City before going to Norwich to take part in a tournament.  This was followed by the BKA U13 championships, where our juniors played well at the highest level, and where Jamie Smith won the MVP.

 Vikings 1 finished 5th in division two, with 9 points, while team 2 finished 5th in the development league, with 7 points.  Vikings’ top scorers for the season were Mo and Rob, who each scored 17 goals.

 The future now looks exciting for Vikings.  The summer will see fundraising events, summer tournaments and the end of season awards dinner.  We will then have a break for the month of August, before returning to training for the new season.  Let’s hope we can build on the great start we have made so far!