On Sunday 26th June our young players and their families gathered at the beach in South Shields for a fun end-of-season celebration with handball and picnic. The players got to try beach handball, take part in a sandcastle competition and the annual awards was handed out. A lot of the young Vikings, coaches and some parents braved a dip in the North Sea after the action-packed handball fun. It was a great turn out, with lots of sandy and happy faces!
We would like to say a massive well done to all our players for their hard work and commitment this season. You are all handball stars in our Vikings Family.
We handed out awards for ‘fair play’, ‘participation’ and the ‘volunteer of the season’ to our two juniors and two youth groups.
Fair Play Award
Junior Benfield: Jacob has grown so much this season and has been chosen for the fair play award. His confidence and understanding of handball has increased week after week. Something that makes all the coaches super proud of him is the respect and the encouragement that he gives to all his teammates. You can really see that he enjoys playing and would like to get better and build the team stronger. Keep up the hard work Jacob!
Juniors Farringdon: Adam is receiving the fair play award because of his positive outlook regarding all his teammates. When Adam is playing, he always tries to include all his teammates, he is well on the way to make a great handball player. Well done, Adam!
Youth Benfield: Elsa has always shown an excellent and positive attitude in our training sessions, and when playing matches. Her can-do attitude and willingness to support the rest of her teammates in match situations and in training sessions have helped the team in numerous situations. She has always stepped up and taken the challenge given! Elsa’s improvement throughout the season has been very well noticed by the coaches and therefore she has been awarded the fair play award. Congratulations Elsa!
Youth Farringdon: Olivia started playing handball with us this season in Sunderland. She is full of energy, kind to others and a good team player. She is always keen to learn, loves playing matches and involves everyone. She quite likes goalkeeping and is extremely brave. She shows strength and has great potential on the handball court. Congratulations Olivia, your fair play attitude is outstanding!
Participation award
Juniors Benfield: Michael’s improvement this season has been remarkable. He always embraces and wants to get better in all positions: goalkeeper, defender, and attacker. Michael always listens to his coach and puts in practice what we teach him in every session. He is also kind with the younger players and truly enjoys handball. He has a bright future in this sport, and we cannot wait and see how far he can go. Well done on achieving the participation award!
Junior Farringdon: William works really hard in every training session, and he always puts 110% effort into every activity. Despite being new to handball he is coming along really well, thanks to his enthusiasm and his hard work. Keep it up William and congratulations on receiving the participation award.
Youth Benfield: Edda has been one of the players that has been attending most training sessions this season. Her willingness to improve and learn about handball has been well noticed by the coaches. She has demonstrated a fantastic attitude in the training sessions, listening to the coach’s advice, open-minded and happy to take on new challenges. She is good at helping her peers during sessions to ensure they feel welcome. She has also attended tournaments and played matches for other teams which has positioned her with a great improvement in her handball skills. Well done Edda! You really deserve the participation award.
Youth Farringdon: Aaron is receiving the participation award for his fantastic commitment to handball both as a player and as a volunteer. Aaron has always been very committed and has a great training attendance record both in junior and senior sessions. He is keen on learning and works well with others. He has this season taken up refereeing and has shown increased confidence with this both in club events and at the EHA school games. Keep going Aaron, we are proud to have you in our club! A very valued member.
The volunteers of the season: Andrew Parker and Oli Cass
Andrew has grown into the role as a young leader over this season. His confidence is rising, and he always says yes to help in the sessions with the young juniors, planning activities, guiding them and being a fantastic role model. In addition to that, Andrew often helps with table officiating on match days and over the years he has helped during events outside the handball court too. Andrew is a true and committed Vikings member – we are proud to have you in our handball club. Keep going, and work towards your coaching qualification!
Oli has taken a big step up and has become a helper in our young junior sessions every Wednesday. Oli works very well with the young players, guiding them and showing them how an exercise is to be done. He is happy to plan an activity and run it in the session. His confidence is growing every week. Oli never says no, has a ‘give it a go’ attitude which makes him a great role model for the others. Oli you should keep working towards becoming a coach. We are so lucky to have you in our handball club as one of our most committed young volunteers!
Thank you both!
A massive thank you to all volunteers who helped organised and set up the beach handball family event. The Vikings will continue with beach handball for the young players over the next few weeks and are looking forward to see all the players back on the indoor handball courts in September, ready for a new season. Also thank you so much Emily C and Weronika for your amazing work as coaches in our handball club. We wish you both the very best of luck with your university degrees.
