Chronicle Spring 2022

39 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Abi Flory What do you do here at Teddies and how long have you been here? I coach cricket and hockey and have been at Teddies since March 2021. Tell us about your own education. I went to Bartholomew School in Witney. After my GCSEs I really wanted to focus on sport and so I studied for a BTEC in Sports and Exercise Science at the City of Oxford College. I am now in my third year at Oxford Brookes University studying Sport, Coaching and Physical Education. Tell us about your own sporting history. From a young age my Dad would take me to the park to play a range of sports. From around the age of ten, I played hockey, cricket, tennis and badminton and at 15 I started athletics. It was around this time that I had to make the decision about which sports to focus on as I couldn’t do them all! I chose to continue with cricket and hockey. That year I won the Lady Taverners national girls’ cricket finals with Freeland Cricket Club and the next season I moved to Charlbury Cricket Club to play in the adult teams. I currently play for the Men’s 2nd team and Captain the Women’s team – last year the women’s team won the Super 8s competition and the League. Also at 15, I broke into the 1st team at Oxford Hawks Hockey Club and in the same year the team gained promotion to National League. I played National League hockey at Hawks until 22 at which point I moved to Witney Hockey Club. Last year the Witney Hockey Club was also promoted to National League. Tell us about girls’ cricket at St Edward’s – what’s on the horizon? We run a training programme for aspiring female cricketers across the Autumn and Spring Terms so that pupils are able to develop their batting and bowling technique as well as their all-round knowledge of the game. The increase in girls participating in cricket allows three teams to be fielded during the Summer Term, a 1st XI, Junior Colts A and mixed softball team. The 1st XI will have pre-season training and matches on the Wormsley Estate during the Easter holidays and will enter the national competition for the first time – and we have an expanded fixtures list for our girls’ teams so that they can play against other schools. Best advice you’ve ever been given? Don’t be afraid of failing – it’s through making mistakes that you improve. Which book would you take to a desert island? If I were only allowed to take one book it would have to be The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.