College soccer stars are top of the league

PRIESTLEY College’s footballers won their league after a nail-biting end to their season.
The Warrington college finished joint top of the North West Colleges Premier Division edging out Winstanley and Sir John Deane’s with a superior goal difference.
Skipper Jordan Edge pinpointed a match against Bury as the turning point for Priestley’s season, which also saw them reach the final of the John Sleigh Cup.
“It was 2-2 at half time and we needed to win to go top of the league,” said Jordan, who is studying PE, Psychology, Citizenship and the Extended Project at Priestley.
“We ended up winning 8-2 and that was when we realised it could be our season.”
During the half-time talk in that match, both Jordan and sports tutor Dan Jordon told the players to calm their nerves and to stop rushing in pressure moments.
These small changes to their mental approach made all the difference and Priestley went undefeated for the rest of the league season.
Their improved approach was highlighted in the semi-final of the English Schoolboys FA Cup where they trailed 4-0 at half time, but ended up losing by a narrow 4-3 margin.
“As a team we were there to win every match and not just make up the numbers,” said Jordan, a former Beamont Collegiate Academy pupil who also plays international Futsal for England.
“Whenever we were behind in a match we just worked harder for each other and showed a lot of character.”
Priestley hopes to build on this season’s success when it launches a football academy in September.
Dan Jordan said: “We already attract plenty of top class footballers from the local area so the goal is to build on that over the next year and produce the best student footballers possible.”