2015 HNHS School Magazine | Page 72

Girls’ The year began in April at the Festival Of Hockey held at the Regional Sports Park, where we played in an eight team under 17 tournament for the Furnware Cup. Due to our young squad all players were eligible to compete and the hard work we put in at training paid dividends when we beat Woodford 4-1 to place third. This was a great start to the season and it was fantastic to receive our medals alongside the international teams. In the second term the Hawke’s Bay Secondary Schools competition began and following a round robin we made the top 4 for the second year running. We continued to improve during the top 4 round with a notable 4-0 victory coming against Iona College. The semi-finals saw us playing the strong Napier Girls High School team, the girls put up a fantastic effort before going down narrowly 1-0 to a late second half goal. This put us in the third/ fourth playoff against Woodford a repeat of our Furnware Cup game earlier on in the year, however this time we were unable to secure the win going down 3-0. Hockey Girls 1st XI Back Row: Jasmine Roydhouse-Ross, Alice Lindsay, Libby Ford, Olivia Campbell, Madison Chu 2nd Row: Lily Matson (Goal Keeper), Georgia Hulls, Marleen Slabbekoorn, Ana Rathbone, Holly Brittin, Mrs Hulls (Manager) Front Row: Georgia Lane, Kaitlin Allan, Amy Brittin (Captain), Trinity Mildenhall, Abbey Cullen Absent: Greg Brittin (Coach), Oakleigh Duncan, Kelsey Ulyatt The strong competition amongst the top four teams was great preparation for our September school tournament in Taupo, meaning the team left full of confidence. Although the sun was out on arrival the rain clouds gathered and it turned out to be a wet week. Despite the we ather the team went from strength to strength throughout the week. As each day went by we began to believe that winning the Kate Trolove Cup was a realistic goal. Everyone was playing well individually and our game plans were proving effective. Having finished top of our pool we won our quarter-final 2-0 and despite a nervous start in our semi, secured our place in the final with a 2-1 victory over Mt Maunganui College. This result meant we would face the only other unbeaten team, St Orans in Friday afternoons final. Being in a final was a new experience for most of the team, however having overcome our nerves the previous day everyone came out firing. We managed to score a goal in each half which was enough to secure the win we were all striving for. It was a pleasure to collect the trophy on behalf of our team of champions. The success of our team and development of players resulted in several girls making Hawke’s Bay rep teams during the year. Congratulations to all of these players who were as follows: Georgia Lane; Hawkes Bay U15 Premier, Jasmine Roydhouse-Ross, Holly Brittin and Ana Rathbone; Hawke’s Bay U15 Championship, and Amy Brittin; Hawkes Bay U18 Women’s. A big thank you goes to our head coach Greg Brittin, Krista and Charlie Hine who assisted at trainings and our management team Rachel Hulls and Karen Brittin. Their commitments and efforts throughout were a key part of our success. I would also like to acknowledge the support from parents and family who attended games and were always encouraging. Winning tournament was a tremendous way to end a long season which saw every player blossom and the team go from strength to strength. With all players coming back to school next year we look forward to the new challenges in 2016. Amy Brittin