Due to the fact that North Harbour (and Auckland) operate on a school year basis and much of the rest of New Zealand works on age group basis, the Wanganui Tournament was always going to be extremely difficult for all the North Harbour teams. Fundamentally, it meant that our NHY6 team would be playing against Y7/8 boys from some of the strongest teams in the country. We were advised that we needed to prepare for this and that we were going to find it tough.
However, the boys accepted the challenge and we set about working on our basic skills, teamworking and fitness - we knew that if we were fit and played together as a team, we might get beaten but, we would always learn and develop together. The boys committed to a basic fitness program from Optimal Sports, the company that manages the Black Caps fitness programs, and we had training sessions every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the Christmas break. These were non-compulsory but, the boys (and parents) really worked at getting to as many as possible and we found that we had a good quorum each session. We started off with fitness shuttles and even got the boys to run up North Head without complaint (... sort of), and then moved on to some technical development and our fielding. We knew that we might not be able to hit the ball as far, or bowl as quick, as the bigger boys but, we could use our fitness to take advantage of our size for quick singles and fielding skills.
The boys were fantastic and worked extremely hard at their cricket and we started seeing improvements week on week leading up to the tournament. Just before we left, we all agreed a team philosophy around enjoyment and fair play; we decided that the most important thing was that everyone got a chance to bat/bowl and that our goal was to learn something every game. We also agreed that we would only focus on what we could control and not worry about the other team; we would only be positive and would respect the opposition for their efforts.
We were, as expected, the youngest team at the tournament and, to be honest, I was a bit concerned about how this might effect the boys. I did wonder if I had done the right thing and really worried that this experience might backfire on me and whether it would be detrimental to their cricket development. I should have had more faith ...
We were, without doubt, the best fielding side in the whole competition - in our 6 games we ran out 17 batsmen; many with direct hits but, all with a commitment and speed that none of the other teams could manage. Cole Briggs won wicketkeeper of the tournament but, the ground fielding (and catching) was some of the best I have ever seen. The boys were absolutely fantastic; we struggled to get runs on the board sometimes but, we were never short of commitment and bravery. We worked our singles and then defended our totals with absolute commitment. As we developed more confidence, we started putting together some fantastic individual scores but, whatever our total (we lost the toss 6 out of 6 and ended up batting first in 5 games) the boys never gave up. The boys supported each other throughout the whole game, we were chirpy and upbeat about everything that happened; dropped catch to good ball to amazing run out. The commitment to respect and positivity extended to our opposition and, whilst we were chirpy, we never disrespected the other teams - clapping their batsmen off/on and appreciating their efforts and play.
The result was an amazing 4 wins from 6 games ... I still have to pinch myself to make sure that it is not a dream! Not that I did not believe in the boys nor, that they had punched so far above their weight but, that they did it all with such a great spirit and learnt something every single session. We (Coaching Team: Don, Colin and myself) really could not have done any of this without the support of the parents; everyone contributed something - from umpiring to providing ice to coffee (very important) to photos to dri-fit shirts to laundry services to warm up sessions to shouting support ... there are too many to mention but I would just like to make special mention of Sue (NetWork Visuals); who made the boys look like a team by providing two dri-fit shirts for each of them. The rest of you all know who you are - thank you all for making this such a fantastic experience.
Game 1 v. Horowhenua Kapiti (Won)
Horowhenua Kapiti 82/9 (Reid Hastie 2/2 Donald Coleman 1/1, Max Lewis 1/9, Jack Stevenson 1/7, Chris Woodard 1/9) North Harbour 83/3 (Sam Hinds 28*, Reid Hastie 16, Donald Coleman 13*)
Game 2 v. Auckland EDCA (Won)
North Harbour 137/4 (Eru Hudson 30*Reid Hastie 20, Matt Strain 15*) Auckland EDCA 131/7 (Angus Nicoll 2/24, Steven Newey 2/10, Harry Bartlett 1/5, Chris Woodard 1/8, Bronson Marshall 1/16, Jack Stevenson 1/19)
Game 3 v. Cornwall Park Gold (Lost)
North Harbour 73 All Out (Chris Woodard 23, Matt Strain 26) Cornwall Park 77/5 (Max Lewis 1/8, Matt Strain 1/8, Luke Dewar 1/5, Donald Coleman 1/15)
Game 4 v. Taranaki North (Lost)
North Harbour 118 All Out (Sam Hinds 33, Jack Stevenson 22, Reid Hastie 13) Taranaki North 119/4 (Reid Hastie 1/11)
Game 5 v. Manawatu (Won)
North Harbour 96 All Out ( Eru Hudson 30, Cole Briggs 10, Harry Bartlett 10) Manawatu 49 All Out (Jack Stevenson 2/4, Max Lewis 1/13, Harry Bartlett 1/6, Matt Strain 1/6, Steven Newey 1/0)
Game 6 v. Taradale (Won)
North Harbour 126 All Out (Jack Stevenson 25, Max Lewis 13*, Sam Hinds 15, Reid Hastie 11, Matt Srain 11) Taradale 112 All Out (Max Lewis 1/6, Sam Hinds 2/7, Chris Woodard 1/10)
However, the boys accepted the challenge and we set about working on our basic skills, teamworking and fitness - we knew that if we were fit and played together as a team, we might get beaten but, we would always learn and develop together. The boys committed to a basic fitness program from Optimal Sports, the company that manages the Black Caps fitness programs, and we had training sessions every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the Christmas break. These were non-compulsory but, the boys (and parents) really worked at getting to as many as possible and we found that we had a good quorum each session. We started off with fitness shuttles and even got the boys to run up North Head without complaint (... sort of), and then moved on to some technical development and our fielding. We knew that we might not be able to hit the ball as far, or bowl as quick, as the bigger boys but, we could use our fitness to take advantage of our size for quick singles and fielding skills.
The boys were fantastic and worked extremely hard at their cricket and we started seeing improvements week on week leading up to the tournament. Just before we left, we all agreed a team philosophy around enjoyment and fair play; we decided that the most important thing was that everyone got a chance to bat/bowl and that our goal was to learn something every game. We also agreed that we would only focus on what we could control and not worry about the other team; we would only be positive and would respect the opposition for their efforts.
We were, as expected, the youngest team at the tournament and, to be honest, I was a bit concerned about how this might effect the boys. I did wonder if I had done the right thing and really worried that this experience might backfire on me and whether it would be detrimental to their cricket development. I should have had more faith ...
We were, without doubt, the best fielding side in the whole competition - in our 6 games we ran out 17 batsmen; many with direct hits but, all with a commitment and speed that none of the other teams could manage. Cole Briggs won wicketkeeper of the tournament but, the ground fielding (and catching) was some of the best I have ever seen. The boys were absolutely fantastic; we struggled to get runs on the board sometimes but, we were never short of commitment and bravery. We worked our singles and then defended our totals with absolute commitment. As we developed more confidence, we started putting together some fantastic individual scores but, whatever our total (we lost the toss 6 out of 6 and ended up batting first in 5 games) the boys never gave up. The boys supported each other throughout the whole game, we were chirpy and upbeat about everything that happened; dropped catch to good ball to amazing run out. The commitment to respect and positivity extended to our opposition and, whilst we were chirpy, we never disrespected the other teams - clapping their batsmen off/on and appreciating their efforts and play.
The result was an amazing 4 wins from 6 games ... I still have to pinch myself to make sure that it is not a dream! Not that I did not believe in the boys nor, that they had punched so far above their weight but, that they did it all with such a great spirit and learnt something every single session. We (Coaching Team: Don, Colin and myself) really could not have done any of this without the support of the parents; everyone contributed something - from umpiring to providing ice to coffee (very important) to photos to dri-fit shirts to laundry services to warm up sessions to shouting support ... there are too many to mention but I would just like to make special mention of Sue (NetWork Visuals); who made the boys look like a team by providing two dri-fit shirts for each of them. The rest of you all know who you are - thank you all for making this such a fantastic experience.
Game 1 v. Horowhenua Kapiti (Won)
Horowhenua Kapiti 82/9 (Reid Hastie 2/2 Donald Coleman 1/1, Max Lewis 1/9, Jack Stevenson 1/7, Chris Woodard 1/9) North Harbour 83/3 (Sam Hinds 28*, Reid Hastie 16, Donald Coleman 13*)
Game 2 v. Auckland EDCA (Won)
North Harbour 137/4 (Eru Hudson 30*Reid Hastie 20, Matt Strain 15*) Auckland EDCA 131/7 (Angus Nicoll 2/24, Steven Newey 2/10, Harry Bartlett 1/5, Chris Woodard 1/8, Bronson Marshall 1/16, Jack Stevenson 1/19)
Game 3 v. Cornwall Park Gold (Lost)
North Harbour 73 All Out (Chris Woodard 23, Matt Strain 26) Cornwall Park 77/5 (Max Lewis 1/8, Matt Strain 1/8, Luke Dewar 1/5, Donald Coleman 1/15)
Game 4 v. Taranaki North (Lost)
North Harbour 118 All Out (Sam Hinds 33, Jack Stevenson 22, Reid Hastie 13) Taranaki North 119/4 (Reid Hastie 1/11)
Game 5 v. Manawatu (Won)
North Harbour 96 All Out ( Eru Hudson 30, Cole Briggs 10, Harry Bartlett 10) Manawatu 49 All Out (Jack Stevenson 2/4, Max Lewis 1/13, Harry Bartlett 1/6, Matt Strain 1/6, Steven Newey 1/0)
Game 6 v. Taradale (Won)
North Harbour 126 All Out (Jack Stevenson 25, Max Lewis 13*, Sam Hinds 15, Reid Hastie 11, Matt Srain 11) Taradale 112 All Out (Max Lewis 1/6, Sam Hinds 2/7, Chris Woodard 1/10)
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