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Hockey
 
Photo by Frankie Vella

Boys 1st XI Hockey

CJ Barnes —

The Boys Hockey 1st XI had a great year despite not quite reaching their potential in the final standings due to losing some very tight critical games at the end of the season.

With a combination of seniors and juniors and the coaching provided by Mr Norton during the games, we were able to secure 6th place.

At the start of the year, the 1st XI was missing a total of 5 players due to the 2019 year 13’s leaving. This meant that a reasonable gap needed to be filled, and thankfully some of the previous 2nd XI’s were ready to fill said gap. The first half of the season went well for the team, with great victories over Kings B and Otago Boys’ High School 2nd XI, as well as a friendly rivalry between Logan Park and Tokomairiro High School forming. At the end of the 1st round robin we were 3rd out of 8 teams.

The second half of the season wasn’t quite as successful as the first half, eventually losing the 5th vs. 6th playoff in a close and exciting encounter against a determined Kings B team. We finished the season proud of our effort as we managed to improve our play over the course of the season, but the overall feeling at the end of the season was one of what could have been as we slipped out of the top 4.

Overall, the season was a great way to end my high school hockey, and I believe that Mikey will also feel the same way. I would like to thank Dr Thompson for running practices, Mr Norton for coaching us and the boys for making the season memorable. I will miss the cold 7:30 Thursday morning practices.