SC hockey teams head to primary nationals
The South Canterbury Hatch Cup hockey team have an ace up their sleeve.
Former Black Stick Hayden Shaw is taking the boys’, something that could hold the side in good stead for their tournament in Christchurch.
Shaw was a classy athlete and his wealth of knowledge would be massive to the team.
The South Canterbury primary school boys’ team attending the Hatch Cup in Christchurch will come up against North Harbour, Waikato, Thames Valley, Northland and Nelson. After finishing 12th in 2015, the South Canterbury side will be hoping for a better placing this year.
They open with clashes against Thames Valley and Waikato. Shaw said the side had a goal in mind. ‘‘We are targeting the quarterfinals. We will have to knock over one of North Harbour or Waikato and not slip up against the rest but I think we can do it.’’
The team has 10 players from the successful Waihi team that ventured to the North Island and knocked over schools from Auckland and Waikato, while two are returning from last year.
‘‘Our buildup has been pretty good. The only games we have lost were against Canterbury.
‘‘We have to try and get that small cousin mentality out of their head when they play the bigger teams.’’
He is being assisted by former Black Stick Colleen Suddaby. ‘‘She is great and has offered a wealth of knowledge as well.’’
A late draw change means the South Canterbury Collier Cup girls’ team face a tough task at their tournament in a Hamilton next week.
Originally the side had a reasonable draw with Hawkes Bay shaping as the strongest team but certainly beatable.
However a team pulled out resulting in a full draw re-shuffle and South Canterbury getting pooled with hockey heavyweights Canterbury and North Harbour.
Coach Tim Greenall was disappointed at the late draw change but still excited. ‘‘Canterbury and North Harbour will be very hard but the girls have been playing well.
‘‘We’re definitely aiming for a top 10 finish up there, we feel third in the pool is realistic,’’ he said.
Other sides South Canterbury will tackle at the tournament in Hamilton are Otago, Nelson and Waikato Development.
Greenall said the side had been playing well heading into tournament.
‘‘We had a couple of good wins against West Coast and Marlborough and suffered a tight loss to Nelson.
‘‘We also beat Otago before them so we are going nicely.’’ Four players from last year are in the side again, Chelsea Greenall,