Tough tournament, but great experience
The Junior Boys where off to Nelson to compete in the A Grade Boys Tournament, which also played host to Premier Boys Grade and the Girls Tournament making for a hive of activity at the stadium.
It was a sharp learning curve at the South Island tournament for our team who has had a tough local season competition against adult men's teams and other senior teams, however they took some great aspects from the season and took them on court.
Thank you to Coach Terry Parle for the write up about the boys time away and for coaching the boys throughout the season. Also a big thank you to Manager Gordy Iafeta for taking great care of the team and excellent support throughout the local season.
Saturday 27th August - vs Rolleston College and Hillview College
The first day of competition saw the boys right in the mix of the competition only going down by 6 points against Rolleston and Hillview Colleges. However, by the start of the final quarter the scorer blew out into double figures when thee final whistle went. After reviewing the games the boys knew the places to improve on as they moved into the second day of competition.
Sunday 28th August - vs Darfield HS and Nayland College
On day two the boys showed a much improved performance, both mentally and physically, which led to much closer games against Darfield HS and Nayland College. Against Darfield the team only lost by 5 points who were the eventual group winners. In the second game saw a heartbreaking loss by a single point against local team Nayland College. However, both performances are to be proud of and included many parts to take into the the third day of competition.
Monday 29th August - vs Westland HS and Middleton Grange
Day three saw the team take their only win of the tournament against local rivals Westland HS which definitely lifted spirts and made up for the tight losses the day prior. Game 4 had a preventable loss in overtime against Middleton Grange with only 4 points separating the teams.
Tuesday 30th August - vs Westland HS
The final game of the tournament for the team was to be against Westland HS again, however as they played each other earlier in the tournament with both teams carrying some sore bodies and wanting an earlier arrival home it was decided not to play this final game.
The players grew into the tournament and have shown glimpses of the potential they have as both individuals and as a team which we hope to see reach a new level next year. As always with tournaments like this it is a big physical, mental and technical step for many players who may have not had any experience at this level of tournament, however again the potential is there to be tapped into for all players.
The Most Valuable Player, who had a stand out tournament, was Johnathan Mulhane. His ability was not only apparent to the coaching staff, but was also commented on by several opposition coaches.
The Most Improved Player was Noah Smith. Noah grew into the tournament as he realised that he deserved to be there and his ability was on a par with his peers.
