Ladies 4 P22 W6 D5 L11 GF37 GA45 GD-8 PTS 23 POS 10th
The ladies 4s were certainly eager for a hopefully Covid-free season. The enforced break in hockey had been frustrating for everyone, especially after they had seen so much success in recent seasons and gained some momentum. Its’s true to say that the success in the ladies’ section, particularly in the 4s has created its own challenges for this season. Ashford Ladies was clearly ‘the place to be this year’ and we have enjoyed incredible numbers of juniors and new players coming through. So much so that Foxy had to find some creative ideas to fit us all in at training and on the team sheets! We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Foxy, Jamie and Matt (and of course other volunteers that have popped along to help) for some fantastic coaching. Naturally, having 39 players selected for the 4s throughout the season has made it difficult to get consistency in structure and set plays on the pitch, which of course has an impact on consistency of results. As captain on the pitch, I have been extremely dependent on the core of players that have been the backbone of the team, week in week out. I also wish to thank Elaine for all her hard work in doing all the admin and getting us organised, she’s been an absolute legend. I think the biggest strength this season has been our development of junior players. We have enjoyed watching and guiding these fantastic young players as they have grown in strength and skill; very quickly and calmly making their way through the sides with maturity and confidence. We enjoyed the dynamic duo of Jess and Aoife helping us to some great results early in the season, but the hole they left gave space for others to flourish. In defence we watched Freya and Anna dispossess countless surprised attackers and then waved them on to higher teams where they slotted right in. I won’t be able to list everyone by name I’m afraid and I’d be worried to miss someone out, but in the second half of the season we have seen new players grow and flourish and no doubt very early next season they’ll be chasing on the heels of the 3s! One of these I know will be Tilly - as she joined us late in the season, and had a great impact becoming joint top scorer with Hilary! Well done both of you! I am extremely proud to be part of a team and a club that is attracting and promoting so many great players and am delighted that it has been so difficult to select the Player of the Season and Most improved Player. So, yes we had to work hard and battle to stay in this division this year, but all for the right reasons and we have managed to hold on to that foundation and secure it for building on next season.
Exciting times ahead for the ladies and for the club as a whole.

Ashford ladies 4s’ Most Improved Player – Lottie Mitford-Slade
With so many players representing the 4s this season, and all of them showing us they deserved to be selected, wanted to improve and would listen to and apply any feedback they were given, choosing a most improved player was not an easy task. However, I am delighted to announce that the team voted for someone who kept working and kept working and eventually realised that if she believed in herself as much as we believed in her, she would own midfield. She now knows that she can be first to the ball, and keep it; she can make space, and great decisions. So go on Lottie! Our
most improved player is Lottie Mitford Slade.

Ashford Ladies 4s’ Player of the Season – Michelle Picton
Our player of the season this year is a player who has shown dedication, resilience and absolute dominance in her position. Not only has she given us confidence that no attackers were getting through to goal, but she has helped us moving forward too, with piercing passes and neat tricks to
evade opposition players. Her reverse stick jab tackle is second to none, and I don’t think there’s a single inch of her that hasn’t seen a dimpled bruise as she has literally put her body on the line! Our Player of the Season is Michelle Picton.