From John Laurenson - What a fantastic effort from our sports teams who have recently represented SBHS with pride, at a national level.  As you will read in this article, there have been several great achievements.                                                                                                       

Hockey, Surfing, Athletics, Tennis, Rowing, Futsal, Waterpolo  

Hockey

On a grey misty morning, a group of 15 boys met at school to travel to Timaru to play hockey against Timaru BHS, in our annual pre-season Exchange. Seven players would be playing their debut game against Timaru BHS, at 4pm that afternoon. The trip allows us to incorporate new players into the team environment and to allow them to realise the high standard of hockey required when playing against First XI teams.

Thanks to Mr Jackman for allowing the boys to stay at his rustic fishing hut at Pleasant Point. Out first game of the 2107 hockey season ended in a 2-1 win to Timaru Boys. Taylor Keys hit a great pass into the circle which allowed Angus Jonker to slot the ball into the back of the goal. A pleasing result for our first game of the season.

Due to the forecasted rain on Saturday night, it was decided that the boys would sleep inside. This meant there were some cosy sleeping arrangements but all stayed warm and dry. Some sleep was had by all.

The second game of the weekend was played on Sunday morning. The result was a 4-1 win to Timaru BHS. Brad Knight scored the goal late in the second half. Playing these two games has given the players an idea of the level of play required when playing top teams.

This is the fourth year, we have played Timaru BHS as part of our pre-season warm-up and is becoming an important fixture for both schools.

Both teams will play again this month, when they compete at the South Island ANZAC Hockey Tournament  in Timaru, 24-26 April.

Draw as follows:

Monday 24 April

10.30am - Timaru Boys v St Bedes',    11.50am  -  Christchurch Boys v Otago Boys,   1.10pm  -  Shirley Boys v John McGlashan,   3.00pm  -  St Bedes' v Otago Boys,   4.20pm  -  Shirley Boys v Christchurch Boys,   5.40pm  -  Timaru Boys v John McGlashan.

Tuesday 25 April

1.30pm  -  Timaru Boys v Christchurch Boys,   2.50pm  -  Otago Boys v Shirley Boys,   4.10pm  -  John McGlashan v St Bedes',   6.30pm   -  Dinner.

Wednesday 26 April

8.15am  -  Otago Boys v John McGlashan,   9.30am  -  Timaru Boys v Shirley Boys,   10.45am  -  Christchurch Boys v St Bedes',   1.00pm  -  Timaru Boys v Otago Boys,   2.15pm  -  St Bedes' v Shirley Boys,   3.30pm  -   Christchurch Boys v John McGlashan.

Surfing

Individual surfers contest heats in six categories each week earning individual points as well as points for their respective schools. 30 surfers from nine schools competed over the  six weeks this term.

Angus Mossman (Christs') won the U18 Boys, Josh McCaffery (Shirley) won the U16 Boys, Myka Black (Shirley) won the U14 Boys, Tegen Bishop (Rangiora HS) won the U16 Girls division.

The top schools trophy was a closely contest battle between Shirley Boys High and Christs' College with Shirley coming out on top with 79 pts and College in second with 70 point. St Bedes College was third with 39 points.

The next event on the Canterbury Scholastic Surfing calendar will be the Canterbury Scholastic Surf Champs on the 20 / 21 May.

Wednesday Surf League results :

U18  Boys  = 1st - Angus Mossman, Christs' College, 16.   2nd - Toby Hille, St Andrews College, 11. 3rd - Henry Craw, Christchurch Boys High, 10

U16 Boys = 1st - Josh McCaffery, Shirley Boys High, 15.   2nd - Cameron Wright, Shirley Boys High, 15.   3rd - Eddie Priest, Christs' College, 10.

U 14 Boys = 1st -  Myka Black, Shirley Boys High, 16.   2nd - James Millar, St Bedes College, 13.    3rd - Tim Gould, Christs' College, 10.

South Island Secondary Schools Athletics

On the 31st March, a team of eight boys went to the South Island Secondary Schools Athletics competition in Dunedin. This event involves the strongest competitors from the Canturbury region and pits them against athletes from the rest of the South Island. The competition leads into the School Nationals ,which will be held in Hastings in December. The team produced some very pleasing results with high rankings and good personal performances.

Quinn Andis  -   U14: discus 5th; 200m 5th; sprint hurdles 8th

Xyron Burns  -   U14: 3000m 6th

Riley Dalziel  -   U15: 3000m 12th

Jay Hill-Cattermole  -   U15: discus 10th; long jump 8th; sprint hurdles 4th

Brad Grooby  -   U16: 200m 10th

Reuben Price  -   U15: 1.63m high jump 6th

Cam Marino  -    U16: long jump 3rd

Sam Harris  -    Senior: long jump 4th; triple jump 3rd; pole vault 1st

Tennis

Reece Falck won the Year 11 Singles last week, beating Christ College in two sets 6-2, 6-3. 

Levi MCNabb and Seryozha Sanin  were 1st equal in Consolation singles draw.

In doubles - Reece and Levi achieved 3rd place in Year 12/13 main draw. 

Seryozha Sanin and Troy Hulston were runners up in Consolation year 12/13draw.

A good effort considering we have two  year 11s playing above age group!

Rowing

Further success for SBHS rowers at Maadi

Eight months of work, morning and evening training sessions up to six days week leads to Maadi. The National Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, commonly known as Maadi, represent the ultimate challenge for school rowers. Shirley Boys’ High School travelled to Lake Karapiro to join 2300 rowers from 126 schools throughout New Zealand in the largest school sporting event in Australasia.

With a squad of 27, it was the largest group that SBHS has entered in the four years it has participated at Maadi. The town of Tirau became their home for the 10 days of the regatta. A great bond developing between the town and the SBHS squad, Tirau ‘adopting’ the squad as their own providing them with food, access to the swimming pool and support during the races. They ey even organised a cake for one of the squad on his birthday.

Monday to Wednesday was dominated by heats and repecharges. Crews fighting to progress through the week in hope to qualify into ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals. Despite some tough draws, SBHS crews fought hard through this qualifying stages with nearly all crews progressing to the quarter and semi finals. A highlight to the qualifying days was the fight shown by the Under 18 Eight. Competing in the premier race of the regatta, the Maadi Cup, the Under 18 Eight rowed strongly against more experienced and well resourced crews. In the final repecharge they found themselves in a head to head tussle with Auckland Grammar to grab the final spot in the Maadi Cup final, the top eight crews in New Zealand. Despite falling less than two seconds short of this goal they received wide spread praise for the way in which they rowed during the regatta.

Thursday saw the first semi finals. Already in the top 16, crews now looked to win a spot in an ‘A’ final, ranked top 8 in New Zealand with a chance to win a coverted Maadi medal. Again SBHS boats featured strongly with 6 crews progressing through to the final 8 with a further 6 crews racing in the the top 16 ‘B’ final.

Friday and Saturday bring the big crowds as National Titles go on the line. Making a final is an achievement in itself, there are no easy races as every crew is within a few seconds of each other. A lucky few will win medals.

Winning the South Island Title two weeks earlier, the Under 18 Lightweight Double Sculls combination of Jake Luthi and James Alexander had a target on their backs as one of the favoured crews. They rowed well during the week but the effect of racing in multiple race categories took its toll in the final where they finished 7th. Although disappointed in their result, Jake and James inspired the entire squad throughout the season with their dominate performances on the water and work ethic of it.

After some encouraging finals racing, it fell to the last ‘A’ final crew – the Under 17 quad of McGregor Best, Max, Ngataki, Elijah Coulston, Alex Cartwright and cox Joel Coleman to bring home a medal. They did not disappoint.

After a solid start they broke way from the field with the reigning Under 18 Champions, Kings College of Auckland. In a highly creditable performance they did not allow Kings College to breakaway as was expected, providing a strong challenge. As they crossed the line in front of a loud and excited crowd they had won a silver medal for their school.

Top 16 in New Zealand

· Under 15 Double Sculls

· Under 15 Eight

· Under 16 Quad Sculls

· Under 16 Single Scull

· Under 17 Four

· Under 18 Quad Sculls

· Under 18 Eight

Top 8 in New Zealand

· Under 18 Novice Eight

· Under 18 Four

· Under 15 Four

· Under 15 Quad

· Under 18 Lightweight Double – Reigning South Island Champions

· Under 17 Quad Sculls – Silver Medal – Second in New Zealand

Futsal Nationals 2017 – Juniors

After a frantic start to Day 1, the Junior futsal team found their flow & control of games. First game of the pool play saw them open against Taradale High School. After a sloppy start, a succession of goals flew into the opposition goal closing the first game 8-2. Top goal scorer with 5 goals was Regan Shore which was also matched with commanding performances from Charlie Norris & Isaac Russell. The boys were ruthless in the second half with good performances from Scott Zimmerman, Joe Simmerson & Patrick Reilly.

The second game of the day, against St.Patrick’s College (Wellington), was an evenly contested affair with both teams dominating periods of play back & forth. The game swung into the balance of St Patrick’s with them leading 3-2. Shirley pushed hard to find an equaliser with Josh Watson & Charlie Norris being denied late in the game. A good performance from all players, in particular some outstanding goalkeeping from Cameron Williams, but not the desired result.

The final game of the day saw a lack-lustre start against Otago Boys’ falling behind 0-2 very quickly but good leadership from Mark Zimmerman & great work ethic from the entire squad, with particular mention to the relentless tackling of Bradley Bradshaw, led to the game being dominated to win 6-2. Overall, a decent day with an absolute must win game against Rathkeale College at 9:30am Thursday morning to be in win a chance of progressing into the quarter-finals.

The morning of Day 2 started for the Juniors with a ‘must win game’ against Rathkeale College. An organised and dominant display from the squad saw them take control of the game early with goals from Mark Zimmerman, Isaac Russell and Regan Shore but Rathkeale fought their way back into the game. However, at 3-3, Regan Shore calmly dispatched the ball into the back of the goal to win the game 4-3. The only disappointment was an injury to Bradley Bradshaw which unfortunately ended his tournament.

The second game and final in the pool stages, saw the squad fall 3-0 behind to Mount Roskill Grammar. A resolute and patient approach paid dividends with an equaliser eventually coming from Joe Simmerson. The superior work rate of the boys found further goals from Mark Zimmerman and Josh Watson. This led the qualification into the top 8 of the competition and  a quarter-final against Rongotai College.

The quarter-final was a tense affair in which the juniors demonstrated outstanding defensive organisation and discipline. Shirley forced errors and  took the lead through Charlie Norris. After conceding, there was a quick reply from Scott Zimmerman off a very well worked corner routine and this was followed by another Regan Shore finish. At 3-1 coming into the second half the game was in full control & further discipline was compounded by an outstanding solo goal by Mark Zimmerman which was then followed up with a penalty. The game was closed out with a sublime header from Josh Watson. Final score 6-1 and an outstanding effort not just in this game but throughout the entire day to set up a mouth-watering encounter in the top 4 section against Hamilton Boys at 9:00am Friday.

Day 3 and a semi-final against Hamilton Boys. The opening 10 minutes was a very tight & cagey game with both teams attempting to force an error. Shirley went close with attempts from Mark Zimmerman and Josh Watson but Hamilton crept into the lead at half-time 3-0. The boys were undeterred by the score line & fought hard with a relentless bombardment of the Hamilton goal forcing a number of saves as well as hitting both the post & bar a several occasions. The boys fought back into the game to make it 3-2 and for the final 10 minutes the game swung back & forth with attacks from both teams. The score went to 6-5 to Hamilton with 90 seconds to go & Shirley were unfortunate to again hit the bar from a rocketed shot from Charlie Norris and from Cameron Williams when Shirley pressed in the dying moments of the game. However, it was not to be the day for the boys as they could quite find another goal to take the game into extra-time.

Although disappointed, the boys showed great character in the 3rd place play-off against St. Thomas of Canterbury. In another tactical stalemate, Shirley dominated the early chances with shots from Mark Zimmerman, Isaac Russell & Josh Watson narrowly missing the target as well as forcing some outstanding saves from the St Thomas goalkeeper. The game was end to end throughout the second half and at the final whistle the score was 3-3. This game went straight to penalty shoot-out with the best of three penalties. Joe Simmerson slotted the first penalty but unfortunately Josh Watson had his effort brilliantly saved which gave St Thomas the victory having scored all 3 penalties.

Overall, a great week and season (Term 4 2016 and Term 1 2017) where this group of players have embodied everything that it means to represent the school. They have collectively showed character, resilience and a desire to improve every time they have stepped onto the court whether it be for games or training. As Term 1 ends, the SBHS Junior Futsal season reads NZSS Championship (NZ schools) - 4th, Mainland Championship - 3rd, Secondary Schools league (Wednesday) – Runners up & Sunday Youth A (Under 16) – Runners up. 

Every single player involved in the squad can be hugely proud of what they have achieved and have all been a pleasure to coach. Squad: Mark Zimmerman (Capt), Josh Watson, Isaac Russell, Cameron Williams, Charlie Norris, Regan Shore, Joe Simmerson, Bradley Bradshaw, Luca Macleod-Watts, Scott Zimmerman and Patrick Reilly.

Waterpolo

After a rough season in the Christchurch Boys’ A Grade, Shirley went into the South Island Tournament desperately hunting for some success.

The boys qualified 5th in their pool after big losses against Christs’ College and John McGlashan College and narrow, confidence building loses to Southland Boys High and Burnside High.

The boys fell into the Bottom Four where they had close encounters with Southland and Marlborough Boys’ High School, losing both games by 2 points. Shirley went on to beat the Canterbury Combined Schools (twice) to gain 9th place.

Their first win was in Bottom Four pool play where they won 13-10 and they won again in the 9th-10th playoff, winning 8-3 after being down 2-0 at halftime.

Connor Watherston-Spencer was the MVP for Shirley, scoring a huge 40 goals for the team over the course of the 9-game tournament.

This was the first season of Waterpolo at Shirley Boys’ since 2011 and we’re looking to continue to build and develop the squad into the future.