Having completed their Northern Conference U16 league fixtures with a victory over closest rivals Leeds Gold, Mystics U14 have ended the regular season as champions of both that league with 19 wins from 20 matches and the Northern Premier U14 league with 12 wins from 12 games. The combined tally which reads played 32 won 31 lost 1 is a testament to the squad’s exceptional team spirit, togetherness, mental toughness and ability.

To prepare for the play off quarter final, we have games at Lancashire Spinners on 5 April before hosting Ipswich the weekend after. If successful, I will try to arrange a game before Final Fours on May 3 and 4.

If possible, please try to come and support our team in the Ipswich game. (No drums please!)

After a run of successive wins against 3 U16 opponents, Mystics U14 I returned to complete their U14 Premier League action with a scintillating team display away to Newcastle Eagles yesterday 9/3/25. The victory gives the team a 100% 12-0 winning record to go alongside the 15 wins and 1 loss so far in the U16 Northern Conference.

We started the month with a home game against York Vikings (Eagles) U16s. Fortunately, they didn’t play in horned helmets and Harold Blue Tooth, Sweyn Forkbeard and King Canute weren’t on the coaching staff! York play to their strengths and are as well drilled as my molars. Their physicality and 3 point shooting on sight caused us problems initially. We trailed 14-18 after 10 minutes as Emmanuela carried most of the burden for our offensive production.

We needed to up our defensive intensity and move the basketball more efficiently if we were to get our noses in front. We did and we did. Chichi came to the fore on offense and our team defence became more stifling than a major heat wave. We won the quarter 23-8!

The third and fourth stanzas were more even as we benefitted from increased production from Darcie and lost little ground despite equitable sharing of court time. The 10 point 67-57 win was as deserved as it was hard-fought.

The following day, we hosted Leeds U16 Black who weren’t devious enough to turn up in white kit to confuse us. They did, however, confuse us enough to take the first quarter 11-16. I considered using a loud alarm clock to wake our players up but opted for a plea for greater focus. As they so often do, these talented young athletes responded in positive fashion. We won the second period 22-9 and the third 27-8, leading to a 75-50 victory with Emmanuela, Chichi, Zoe, Morgan, Alycia, Adele and Olivia all productive in the points column. 

The weekend after, we entertained Sheffield Hatters U16. That’s not to say we threw a party for them, it’s merely a way of saying we were at home. A tough physical encounter, worthy of any of the battles in the War of the Roses, ensued. Our young team rose to the occasion early on to lead 14-7. The second quarter was as even as any number that’s not odd at 10-10. To the girls’ credit, we really upped our game after the break to pull away to win 57-39 with Adele leading all scorers and highly creditable defensive displays all round, notably from Elsa and Emmanuela but also from our younger, smaller team members, Maisie I, Olivia, Gabby and Zoe, all of whom refused to be intimidated.

Our hectic schedule continued on 9/3/25 with a jaunt up to the frozen north to play Newcastle eagles U14s. Our unfortunate bad run with injuries worsened early on when an opponent unintentionally mistook Darcie’s shin for a punch bag! This followed on from a nasty finger injury for Olivia the day before. In keeping with this team’s truly amazing team spirit, Olivia was far more concerned she’d let her team down than she was with the pain or the fact that she wouldn’t be able to play the piano for a while!

Darcie’s mishap presented Maisie W with the opportunity for extended minutes and she certainly rose to the occasion, particularly on the defensive end. Despite the 3 hour minibus journey, we began as brightly as our red kit to dominate the opening period 18-7 with 5 different scorers. Our defensive display in the second quarter was as near to perfection as is possible at this level. Newcastle gave it all they had but could only muster 2 points, both from free throws in the final seconds of the quarter. By contrast, inspired by a stunning offensive display from Adele, closely followed by Emmanuela and Chichi, we extended the lead to 28 at 37-9 by half-time. 

Not to be out done, Elsa showed encouraging signs of getting back to her best after injury, Darcie refused to let a string of bumps and bruises deter her, Zoe provided admirable cover for Elsa as she eased her way back, Morgan showed us she has back up guard skills against the press, Jahnia came off the bench to show progress in her defence off the ball and Aila revelled in any physical tussle. All in all, this added up to another thoroughly impressive team display from a thoroughly impressive group of players.

Many thanks to James and Annmarie for all they do for us and to Kofi who was willing to give up his Sunday to drive the minibus even though his daughter Christiana is injured. Thank you, too, to our parents for your help and support.

Best wishes,

Jim

The home game against Sheffield Hatters U14s was of huge significance in that the outcome would decide the order of the top 3 sides. A win for us would see us crowned as Northern Premier League Champions. A win for Sheffield would guarantee them second (or first if they beat us by more than 17 points and we then lost our final fixture away to Newcastle.) Birmingham would move up from third to second above Sheffield if we were victorious.

To add to the drama, we had been hit by injuries to key players. Christiana (knee), Emmy (knee and finger), Elsa (ankle) plus Zoe (on holiday) would all be sorely missed! We did receive something of a boost when Elsa declared herself fit enough to ‘give it a go.’ This only lasted for the first 8 minutes of the encounter but was to prove crucial in the eventual outcome. Her defensive prowess went a long way to helping us to a stunning first quarter display which gave us an almost unbelievable 25-6 lead. Despite being one of the best U14 sides in the country, Sheffield could not cope with Mystics’ stifling team defence or potent offense with outstanding contributions from Adele, Emmanuela, Darcie and Chichi, all of whom deserve huge credit.

With such a commanding lead I was able to be more liberal with substitutions for the rest of the game. Even so, we narrowly won quarters 2, 3 and 4 to round off a highly impressive 72-46 victory. All those who came off the bench played their part, particularly at the defensive end.

Aila’s all out effort was there for all to see and it is incredible how far her defence has improved this season. Alycia again showed she can be relied upon to give all she has got by being first back and first up the court on changes of possession. Her short corner shot is a useful addition to our offensive arsenal. Morgan has developed a nice medium range shot which she is never shy to use and I am so pleased that she now realises the value of playing defence. She can be proud of the way she played yesterday. 

Maisie W is another all-action competitor. Her speed and willingness to put in all out effort again showed why she has become a valuable member of the team. A similar tag can be placed on Olivia. We saw why speed and athleticism are dangerous weapons at both ends of the court and her beautiful left-handed Eurostep basket late on in the game should be featured on Sky Sports! To complete the set, our 2 back up point guards, Maisie I and Gabby again showed they can be relied upon to advance the ball without any problem and both possess a nice medium range shot when open which they were once or twice during the game. 

All in all, this was a highly commendable team performance from an ever-improving team whose wonderful team spirit shone through once again. Many thanks to James and Annmarie and to parents for your support as well as to the games officials, all of whom were excellent.

Best wishes, 

Jim

A study of the U16 northern Conference results make it clear that Leicester Riders have improved significantly since they came to us in October with just 7 players. They are now very well-organised and very physical. These two factors plus the fact that they were two years older than 50% of our team which travelled to the game and three years older than the 5 excellent U13s on show meant we could expect an encounter tougher than an overcooked steak. And so it proved.

We began brightly enough, but some slow closing out on shooters left us trailing 4-9 after 4 minutes. As this group so often does, the girls responded positively coming out of a time-out via 3 baskets from the powerful Emmanuela and one from the ever-consistent Christiana to afford us with a 13-11 lead after 10 hard-fought minutes.

Morgan then gave us the perfect start to the second quarter by swishing 2 medium range shots. This proved to be the catalyst for a dazzling offensive display which yielded a massive 25-second quarter points shared by 7 players plus assists from the other 3. It didn’t matter which defence Leicester threw at us (sometimes literally!), each combination of players we had on court found an answer (which isn’t always the case when I ask them general knowledge questions at training to ascertain which team starts with the ball in scrimmages!)

Our opponents tried 2 types of press, an aggressive half court man defence as well as a 1-3-1 zone in an attempt to slow us down. With 3 outstanding but very different guards in Christiana, Adele and Darcie, plus reliable back up in the less experienced Maisie W, their press was less successful than Man United strikers have been this season as we passed our way through it. We nullified their man to man thanks principally to the pace of Olivia, Christiana and Emmanuela and eventually came to terms with their zone via some impressive outside shooting from Morgan, Zoe, Darcie and most notably Adele, accompanied by a string of offensive rebounds from the ever-dependable Elsa and the much-improved Chichi.

Alternatively, we were more bothered by Leicester’s approach to offense. They did shoot and rebound well but regularly resorted to the battering ram/wrecking ball approach not found in any coaching manual. It consisted of head down, drive as fast as you can in a straight line and go through anyone who dares to get in your way. Unfortunately for Emmanuela’s and Darcie’s well-being, they dared to get in the way. Both now have loose fillings and little ear wax following multiple collisions

which were always deemed to be blocks rather than charges. 

Aside from the deserved 73-60 victory, this encounter proved to be very worthwhile in that this young team had to show courage, maturity and togetherness to overcome challenging opponents. Leicester’s very knowledgeable coach told me afterwards that he couldn’t believe an U14 team could perform so impressively against U16s. When I told him 5 of the girls are U13s, he was speechless (which I took as a sign of admiration because he does like to talk!)

A huge thank you to James for his wise words, to Annmarie for being the perfect team manager and to our brilliant driver Kofi as well as to our smaller than usual band of travelling parents. Next up 2 U16 home games – Saturday Teesside and a top of the table clash on Sunday v Leeds Gold.

I am so proud of Mystics’ U14 I’s performance against a powerful Birmingham Rockets who are almost certainly one of the top 4 U14 teams in the country. They may be called Rockets but it was Mystics who provided most of the fireworks. We had a whole team of sparklers on show in this game!

In the away fixture, every quarter was tighter than Pavarotti in a size 10 shirt. The first 2 periods here mirrored that as we shaded both by 3 points to give us a 6 point half-time lead at 38-32. During the break, I re-iterated how to deal with Birmingham’s press and how difficult they would find it to cope with our offensive transition as the game wore on. I also explained that some of our help defence needed tweaking. What occurred over the next 10 minutes had to be seen to be believed. 

Birmingham average 80+ points per game this season. In the third quarter here they scored precisely zero! The way Mystics moved the basketball and defended as a unit was as good as I can remember at this level. We won the quarter 16-0 to go 22 up going into the final stanza. Despite running the bench, we still managed to come out on top 20-18 to record a 74-50 victory over tough opponents. There were undoubtedly several outstanding individual performances but this display was essentially a whole team effort where our wonderful team spirit shone through once again.

The Birmingham coach was gracious in defeat and even praised the officials which was nice to here.

Less than an hour later, the 10 players who did us proud were in action again plus 2 recruits to take on Mersey U16s. I shared court time equitably throughout the game and all 12 made positive contributions, particularly on defence. We won the first have comfortably by 20 and understandably eased off after the break as heavy legs kicked in. Nevertheless, a 62-42 win maintained the team’s 100% winning record over 17 games in both U14 and U16 leagues so far.

Many thanks to James, Annmarie, the table officials and our wonderful supporters for helping to make this a truly memorable occasion. Next up, Liverpool U16s away on 11 January, followed by Spinners U14s away on 19th January.

Our weekend tour of northern England tourist attractions took us to York on Saturday and Stockport on Sunday. I was happy to be able to use as many as 14 players over the two games. They all deserve praise for their contributions. 

York U16s are widely regarded as one of the top 4 teams in the Northern Conference so I anticipated a tough game. Maybe I should consider becoming a clairvoyant because that’s precisely what we got! Defences dominated for the opening 10 minute which we won 11-4. We continued to look the more accomplished side up to half-time and established a 27-14 lead. Our team defence had been as good as I could have hoped for but special mention must go to our two main disrupters, Christiana and Elsa. They were truly outstanding.

Christiana, ably supported by Emmy, also orchestrated our offense to allow Darcie, Emmanuela and Elsa to do the bulk of the scoring before and after the break (during which time I had a kitkat!) We were now in a relatively strong position but this did not last long. We began to turn the ball over due to passing which had become sloppier than the custard I was served up with for school dinners. We also seemed more lethargic than normal. As a result, the lead had been cut to seven with the momentum now firmly with the home side.

Fortunately, as all good teams do, the players listened to what could either be termed as advice or as an ultimatum after a time out. Their response was first-class. We eased the margin back up to 11 going into the final period and undoubtedly saved the best til last. Using all 10 players in almost equal measure (although Maisie I is a little shorter than Elsa!), our stifling team defence restricted a talented York side to a mere 1 point across the first 9 minutes of the quarter. A deserved 54-34 victory resulted

Well played all of the above plus Morgan, Aila, Maisie and Chichi for such a fine all round performance.

The road trip excitement did not end there. It extended way into the evening by way of a 6 hour quick stop for what is allegedly ‘fast food’ at a McDonald’s to end a thoroughly enjoyable day. Many thanks to Christiana’s dad for driving and to Morgan’s mum for again being Mrs Organised, as well as to our loyal band of supporters.

In what was only our second u14 Premier league fixture of the season, we travelled to play Stockport at St Anne’s Voluntary High School which made me wonder if the pupils could decide whether or not they wanted to turn up for lessons! Results so far elsewhere at this level suggest that it would be Sheffield and Birmingham who are our main threats but it never pays to underestimate any opponent. Consequently, I started with what I currently consider to be my first 5 of Christiana, Adele, Darcie, Emmanuela and Elsa.

We began in lively fashion and created several early opportunities. Initially, these all went abegging, as can often be the case on a foreign court (even though Stockport is in England.) It did not take long for the girls to settle. We totally dominated the first quarter, despite using 10 of the 11 players on duty, to lead 23-5. By half-time the lead had grown to 24 and ended almost double that to finish 75-31 against opponents who never gave up from the first whistle to the last. I was very pleased by the contributions made by Olivia, Alycia, Maisie W, Zoe, Chichi and Emmy who all proved how deep a bench we have this season.

Any Manchester-Merseyside sports fixture has added spice to it, and Mystics U14s visit to Liverpool to play Mersey Mavericks U16s yesterday had plenty to savour for the capacity crowd of about 20. We were without the influential due of Christiana and Emmy. They were doubtless high in confidence, having defeated the previously unbeaten York Vikings the day before.

The scene was set for a titanic showdown on a par with Wyatt Earp facing Billy the Kid. In theory, the task before us looked to be as tricky as trying to roller skate on ice. In practice, the opening skirmishes indicated the game would be as tight as any Yorkshireman. Mersey had a quick, skilful guard, some height and seemed mobile and well-organised. They looked as though they could be a tougher test than an A level physics exam.

That said, it did not take long for our 5 starters of Adele, Emmanuela, Elsa, Darcie and Chichi to find their feet. (They were in their trainers!) Fully aware that it was nearly November 5th,  Emmanuela and Darcie were on fire in the first quarter. They scored the bulk of our 23 points with Adele racking up numerous assists with her impressive range of passing. Not to be outdone, Elsa and Chichi shone at the defensive end like highly polishes shoes to help restrict our opponents to a mere 5 points.

By half-time, the lead had grown to 28 at 43-15 thanks to some eye-catching basketball from all 10 Mystics. The 2 Ronnies, sorry, the 2 Maisies, Morgan, Zoe and Jahnia had all seized the opportunity to show their worth. They, too, had helped us in our aim to play harder and smarter than whoever we play against.

Possibly as a consequence of too frequent substitutions from me, possibly because we had a tendency to over-complicate things but our standards slipped somewhat in the third quarter. Our decision making reminded me of a broken Sat-nav-  in that it became wayward at times. There were too many occasions when we shot too early in the shot clock or we tried to force things. This resulted in us only managing 14 points over the next 10 minutes.

A time out reminded those who needed reminding of the error of their ways. To their credit, they responded like Nelson (admirably!) so that the status quo (who had 20 hits with more or less the same monotonous tune) was restored in the fourth period which yielded 21 points for us. Our 78-35 victory makes it appear it was akin to the Swans at Alton Towers, an easy ride. It wasn’t as bumpy as the Big One at Blackpool but we did need to be on our game. Full credit to all 10 Mystics for being just that, as a somewhat different make-up of our players were the day before in the comfortable 71-30 win over Hartlepool expertly overseen by James.

Many thanks to all those involved on Saturday and to Annmarie plus our ever-reliable, helpful parents for you taxiing and support on Sunday. We now face the prospect of 3 games in 5 days with a trip to play a strong York side U16s on Saturday , an actual U14 fixture away to Stockport on Sunday, followed by a Wednesday evening local derby against Mystics U14 II. These precede two consecutive away trips to face Sheffield at U14 and U16 level. These last two are the games which will give us a true indication of where we are currently at. (I don’t mean in south Yorkshire! I do mean how relatively strong we are.)

After a 3-hour drive through enough rain to put off a hosepipe ban for another 5 years, I thought I was hallucinating when I spotted one of our club minibuses in the car park yesterday. Had I driven around in circles and taken a wrong turn on the M6 to end up in Whalley Range? I hadn’t realized Magic U16s were playing at the same venue.

Unfortunately, Magic failed to produce enough of their name and couldn’t overcome a powerful Derby Trailblazers U18s. Mystics’ U14 game v Trailblazers U16 followed this but our opponents weren’t as powerful as the team Magic faced.(Water pistol compared to power washer.)

We began as tentatively as a vegetarian opening a tin of spam. This is often the case when playing on a strange court. (It wasn’t strange due to it being bright yellow, it was just that we had never played there before.) We missed a couple of early lay ups, possibly because the basketball was so bouncy that if there had been no roof, it would now on its way to the moon. The ball was as over-inflated as an American politician’s own opinion of his own fabulousness. (A word I’ve just made up.)

It soon became evident that our pace and range of passing would prove to be as problematic To Derby as I find trigonometry. Consequently, I was able to share court time equitably amongst the 11 Mystics on show. All 11 made positive contributions (over and above shelling out for their match fee.)

Without being at their very best (which, by all accounts they were the day before under James’s tutelage in their impressive 72-45 win over a strong Leicester Riders U16s), the girls did produce enough flashes of brilliance to secure a very comfortable 85-23 victory to maintain their excellent start to the season-  U14 Northern Prem. 1-0, U16 Northern Conf. 3-0.

Many thanks to James, Annmarie and Lorna for all you do for our team plus to our fab parents for your support and taxi driving.

Please could you inform Annmarie of any unavailability re. training and games on 26 Oct and 2 and 3 Nov.