PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS //
Bella Byass
Lower Sixth student and 1st XI Hockey Captain , Bella Byass was selected last summer to take part in the highly competitive Diploma in Sporting Excellence course ( DiSE ).
Bella was only one of 45 girls who achieved national selection for the programme which concluded with a national 3 day camp at Lilleshall in July 2019 . At the camp , Bella was able to train with her team , England Whites , before taking part in the Home Nations International Tournament . England Whites took on Scotland , winning 5-0 , England Red , winning 3-1 and only narrowly missed out to Ireland in the final . Bella and her team mates came away in second place and with a silver medal as reward for all their hard effort .
In the team awards , Bella won the title for ‘ Best Attitude ’. Miss Hornby , teacher of Physical Education at Pocklington School commented : “ This award is testament to Bella ’ s competitive nature , coupled with great sportsmanship and character .”
The DiSE scheme is funded by the Government and run by England Hockey and Loughborough College and is designed to support high potential athletes . Over the course of the year , players attend four camps where the emphasis is on honing the technical and tactical elements of hockey . The programme also covers a range of modules including Strength and Conditioning , Psychology , Nutrition , Media and Communication Skills , Career Development , Lifestyle Management , Wellbeing and more .
Miss Hornby concluded : “ We are all incredibly proud of Bella and her achievements over the last 12 months in the DiSE programme , she is a superb Pocklingtonian and an outstanding role model for all to aspire to within the school . It seems this is just the start of bigger things to come for this talented young lady .”
Emily Marshall
First Year pupil Emily Marshall is the Under 13 Northern High Jump Champion after achieving a personal best jump which was 8cm clear of her nearest rival at the recent Northern Championships .
Emily , who trains three times a week with the Kingston Upon Hull Athletics Club , won a gold medal with a 1 metre 43cm jump which was better than many of the competitors in the next age group up , the U15 girls ’ final , at the Sheffield event .
She said : “ I ’ d been training since October for this competition so I was really happy to win . As I jumped I knew I ’ d cleared the bar but I was worried I ’ d knock it off with my heels !”
Emily realised she had a talent for high jump when she broke the Year 4 record at her previous school : “ After that I joined the athletics club and asked for extra high jump training because I wanted to break the records for the next two years , which I did !” she said .
Last year she won the HMC Athletics North East high jump competition for her age group , clearing 1 metre 38cm at the Gateshead event , which spurred her on to strive for further success .
“ My athletics club coach Bob Hadfield has really helped me to achieve my goals so far . He comes to my competitions and gives me confidence to win ,” said Emily , who now has a 1 metre 45cm competition jump in her sights .
She added : “ I ’ m ranked 5th in the UK , I need 1 metre 52cm to be equal first so that is my ultimate goal over the next few months .”
Georgia Hird , Resident Sports Assistant , said : “ Congratulations to Emily on this excellent result . She is an outstanding example of how dedication and determination can nurture a talent into winning form . We are delighted to be supporting her with extra strength and conditioning training and look forward to seeing her achieve her next aims .”
28 THE POCKLINGTONIAN