Several students were trying out the sport for the first time and we hope to see them return next time. We had one Y1&2, two Y3&4 and three Y5&6 teams. It was awesome to see that 40% of players who signed up for the Year 3-6 teams were girls (up from 30% last year).
These school teams could not have gone ahead without the parents who volunteered to coach. We would like to thank Belinda, Christine, Dave, Marisa, Nick and Nicola for doing this. We appreciate the effort it takes.
The coaches have given us highlights of their season. Photos are below the article.
Year 1&2 - Honu (mixed)
The players thoroughly enjoyed the games. They were all eager to get on the field and give it a go. We had a few stand out players that have all played before: Leo, Ryker, Taniela, Ollie and Izzy. We also had a great lot of kids that were giving it a go for the first time: Harvey, Camila, Luke and Lukas. They improved every week. Player of the day was given based on many areas including sportsmanship, skills development and just giving it a good go.
My highlights were not all on the field but things like when we were at kura and I was asked 'Nic, do we have touch today?' Or I heard the tamariki telling their teachers about their games. It makes you see first hand how much they are loving this sport and being part of it all.
Year 3&4 Mako (mixed)
Amesbury Mako’s had a fabulous season! With lots of newcomers to Touch in our team, the emphasis was on having fun whilst learning a few of the rules. We even had a team mascot to support us. Everyone improved immensely during the season, with lots of speedy runs, chasing opponents down and playing together as a team.
Year 3&4 Tepetepe (mixed)
Everyone played really well as the team started to gel. They were all so passionate. When Ethan and Ariana got player of the week; Ethan was fiery in his defense and attack and scored a couple of tries. Ariana was very fast with ball in hand and listened to instructions well. Victoria has been great this season and scored her first try mid-way through. Although tired, she persisted and ended up scoring - very proud of her.
Andy was the only player in the team who had never played touch. He needed to do a bit more work to understand the game and he improved quickly. He ran fast and defended super well! Jack showed great leadership for the team and was dangerous with the ball in his hands. Rufus was good at defending and really stepped up to be the dummy half for the team (a role no one wants!). Bailey was always there to support the team and ran very fast when she got the ball towards the try line! All parents have been really helpful throughout the season.
Year 5&6 - Manaia (mixed)
They all did so well. There are definitely some natural sports people in Lachy, Miesha and Nixon, these players are machines on the field. It has been awesome watching Gabriella from last season to this season. She was making some great touches and her ball handling had come a long way.
Esita and Arthur have been awesome too, Arthur, for his first time playing, picked it up so quickly. He was so caring, making sure someone was ok if they got hurt on the field. Esita did great; her fitness picked up heaps from last season and she kept the team morale high!
Jedi hadn't played much this season, is a great kid, and got on the field and gave it a go.
We had a great bunch of kids to coach and great parent support too.
Year 5&6 - Whai (mixed)
The students enjoyed all of the games. The highlights have been how much they have all improved and learnt new skills over the season (given that 5 out of 7 were new players); how we all play as a team; how everyone got involved in running and touches; and winning the derby against the other Amesbury team!
Year 5&6 - Wheke (boys)
Extremely proud of the boys - those who had played touch had not much if any training and the other half of the team had never played before. The things that were most satisfying were (a) they actually listened and learnt some stuff (ask them how to do a scissors, or a quick settle); (b) they played as a team - compared to some of the other schools this was really noticeable; (c) they played with respect and sportsmanship.
Highlights were many: They scored a lot of tries and most games were very close. Favourite try: in the final game, the boys played a fast settle and quick pass and just strolled through a gap to score untouched. It sounds very simple, but it demonstrated the amount of effort and training they had put in, and required 4 out of the 5 of them on the pitch to do something in sequence for that to be so effective. Brilliant! All boys deserve a mention (Basti, Junyi, Eden, Henry, Azariah, Divan and our honorary team member Arthur (who covered when anyone couldn't play)).
