16 Abingdon Prep • January 2024 Many will be familiar with the name Will D’Arcy, an ex Abingdon Prep and Abingdon pupil who is currently working at APS as one of our gap students. Whilst working, Will has been juggling training for winter biathlon (cross country skiing and shooting) and is currently in the process of qualifying for the GB team to compete at the Youth World Winter Biathlon Championships. We wish him the best of luck! IN THE SPOTLIGHT - WILL D’ARCY SPORT ST GEORGE’S PARK FOOTBALL TOUR The U13 football squad enjoyed an inspiring tour to St George’s Park, the home of English Football. Whilst away, students were fortunate to experience many state of the art training facilities including a hydrotherapy suite complete with underwater treadmill, indoor futsal arena, world class playing surfaces, and games rooms, all whilst staying in the onsite Hilton hotel. Over the two days, pupils were involved in a futsal tournament and a 9-a-side tournament against schools from across the country. The U11 and U13 football squads have enjoyed some brilliant soccer at the Regional and National IAPS competitions recently. The U11s experienced their first taste of tournament football at the Regional Qualifier, reaching the quarter finals before being knocked out by a last minute goal in stoppage time against a strong Downsend side. The U13s travelled to Summer Fields in Oxford to compete in the finals of the IAPS competition. The competition was fierce, resulting in a win, loss and draw in the group stages. This put APS in the plate competition where they were unfortunately knocked out in the quarter final. Despite not advancing as far as they would have liked, it was an excellent FOOTBALL NEWS opportunity to learn how to play and adapt to the demands of tournament football and a fantastic chance to play against some high calibre opposition. A big thank you goes to the schools and officials for hosting and organising the events. U11 SQUAD
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