Welcome back faithful readers! Last week the Cove Tigers had an opportunity to advance directly to the Winter season finals and missed the mark. Nevertheless, their impressive play through the season entitled them to a repeat chance to get to the Finals with a win against the Hub.
The Hub is a team that the Tigers had met recently in the regular season. At that time the Tigers were victorious, easily beating the Hub. For this reason there was a general sense of opportunity as the Tigers prowled the court in the warm up.
Unfortunately, the Tigers stumbled out of the gate and the Hub took a 7-2 lead in the first quarter. They had limited ability to pass and their defense was porous. Ella sat the first quarter and was subsequently involved in a fantastic rallying 7-2 second quarter. The half time score of 9-9 had re-ignited their confidence and they continued into the third with strong play that had them in a commanding lead with one quarter to play.
Yet another paragraph commences with "Unfortunately", as the Tigers once again lost momentum and stumbled badly in the last quarter. They surrendered the lead with little resistance and stood by and watched as the Hub dominated the final moments. The final buzzer signalled not only the end of the game, but also the end of the Winter season for our Tigers.
Ella took it very well and shrugged her shoulders, donned her sweatshirt and looked surprised to see a few team mates tearing up and hugging their coach. I think she enjoyed the season, but is rather pragmatic about sporting things. After all, the girls just completed trials for the Summer season and as Karen says, "The next season starts in two weeks."
Speaking of the parents, I would be lying if there wasn't an element of this emotion at the news that we won't be back on the cold courts next week:
We expect to hear next week what division Ella plays in for the Summer season; I have mixed emotions here. In one respect, I want Ella to be in the best possible division, however, I know that she wants to play with friends that may be in a lower division. With any luck, her friends and Ella will play together in a competitive and friendly team this Summer.
Stay tuned, and thank you for reading & supporting the Gunton Girls this year!
We are back for the last game of the season for our super-netball girls. For one team it was anti-climatic...for the other, a segue to a playoff appearance.
Under 8's: Cove Tiger Yellow: 1 - 1298 Cove Tigers Opposition
Two things. In case you were wondering, Taylor's team was not labelled "Opposition". Second, although that score is not entirely accurate, the Yellow squad did manage to score a goal. A small victory on a painful night.
There are nights where even the best baseball players throw like this:
Or millionaire hockey players shoot like this:
The above two examples describe how out of sort the mini-Tigers were on Friday night. It did not help that the opposition were significantly taller, older and could actually play this "netball" game. The Tiger girls had difficulty making passes and spent the large majority of the game in their own end. Thankfully the referee pedantically called each foot fault on our Under 8 girls who hardly new which way to attack. Nah, that isn't fair, the referee was a teenage girl who stood behind our Tiger girls when they had the ball and tried to point to teammates that were open. She did a nice job (but why call a foot fault on a team that is struggling to move the ball ten feet?!)
Taylor played reasonably well, and improved her defensive game and passing. Interestingly, she was moved to a forward attack position and spent most of the game looking over her shoulder trying to find her opposition with a puzzled expression, "Why aren't you trying to defend me? Should I be this far away from you?" She is a born little defender.
Anyhow, the game was quickly forgotten as a happy Tiger team sat in McDonald's and shared icecreams. The parents were already thinking to the summer league and how the girls had progressed this winter season. Well done, Under 8's Tigers, and congratulations on a nice first season.
Under 11's: Cove Tigers Score Magic Less than Score
That is a riveting score line, but in my defense I only saw a few minutes of this game. I believe they won by a fair margin. In the few minutes that I did see, the Tigers played well. In keeping with out sports analogies today, this is what the older Tigers looked like.
This team is ready for the play offs and like I have been writing all season. The coach has them peaking at the right time and I can't wait to report to y'all how they perform.
On a final note, Ella has her second round of try-outs for the Summer Under 11 league. She had a bit of a rough first weekend so I am hoping this Sunday she performs to her ability. Or I could be a good Dad and drink coffee and cheer her on no matter how she plays. I wish I was that Dad.
Another Friday Night...no, let me start again and check the temperature:
Second try: Another frigid Friday Night and our favourite netballers were back at it on the concrete courts as Momma Gunton tried not to become the first frostbite victim in Australia's history. The first Gunton girl was Taylor and her fellow Cubs who have been playing better of late. Could this be the night?
U8's: Taylor & co. break the GooseEgg!
Cove Tiger (Yellow)* 4 - 2 Cove Tigers (Green)
* Taylor's team
Taylor & Charlotte with big smiles
The game started with Taylor's Yellow team flying out of the gate. At one point, one mother counted 9 consecutive passes before an interception. The difference in this game is that one little Cub, Charley, decided that she was going to score. And she did. Four times. The girls all shared the same expression: What is going on? They were winning, and winning by a fair margin.
This is a recent videoclip of Finn. I think it summarizes the surprise of all who were witnessing this game
Taylor played exceptionally well at centre, tenaciously marking her opposing player, and intercepting three balls. Gone is the polite little girl. She now knows what to do as her coaches have taught her well. Her passing was improving as well.
Interestingly, Taylor plays the same position as Ella (centre) and they play it in markedly different ways. Taylor pays extreme attention to her defensive game and always has an arm in front of her opposition. She passes the ball with very aggressive, short bursts of power. Ella plays a smoother game, reading the opposition's defence and finding gaps for a looping pass. Her coach is trying hard to iron that pass out of her arsenal. Whereas Ella figured the offensive game out quickly, the defensive game does not come naturally. Her opposing player is often wide open and Ella arrives a few seconds later.
Anyhow...when the buzzer went, this is what the crowd looked like:
Congratulations Taylor and Cubs! Big win. Only one game left in the season and you are finishing very nicely.
U11's: Another Friday? Another dominating win.
Cove Tigers Div. 2* 12 - 3 Cove Tigers Div. 3
* Ella's Team
If you recall, Ella's team had a frustrating loss last week prior to her Carnival. Ella and I have been discussing a few elements of her game and this week we focused on running routes that provide better targets for your teammates. If you readers know Ella, you will know that this girl has a big brain and learns very quickly. She started to run aggressive lines and played a very, very nice game at centre. Her passing was flatter with a bit of English on it. Her defense was still weak, but this was a nice game and let's focus only on the positives.
Next week is the last game of the season for the Div. 2 Tigers before playoffs, and we the occasional losses they have suffered in the season, I think the team will be entering playoffs as a darkhorse that will do some serious damage.
So two big wins? This calls for a special double pump celebration.
It has been a couple of weeks, but in my defense my computer had died. It was a quick, unexpected end for a unit that served my beck and call tirelessly; a moment of silence is in order.
That should suffice.
Ella played last Friday night (July 25th) and the team came out flat and underperformed stumbling to a 16-8 loss against a relatively weak opponent. The team chemistry was off and Ella only played half the game due to the large number of replacements that the Under 11's Second division team carries. All in all, a disappointing night.
The little netballer, Taylor, had a bye and announced this to everyone she could possibly tell...multiple times. I am not sure if it is because this is her first bye ever, or if it is because it represents a reprieve from the omnipresent Friday night thrashing. Either way, she didn't play and thus the Under 8's Cove team got their (automatic) first two points of the season. Congratulations Cove Under 8's.
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Today is another day. Today meant that the Netball Carnival was in town, which means to the Netball newbie that the girls play a one day tournament of 5 games (minimum) of two 10 minute halves. Winners proceed to semi-finals and ultimately, the Grand Final.
Ella's Under 11's Division 2 Cove Tigers were the youngest team present and represented the Cove club well.
The organizers kept a nice table updated and prior to the playoff rounds, I took a picture. Look at our Cove Tigers 2 (as in Division 2). Each win is worth two points, and a tie is one point :
The Cove Tigers were victorious quite easily in their first three games of the day. The close scores did not represent the games very well. The Division 2 Tigers were very strong offensively but had difficulties scoring. Defensively, the combination of the tall, willowy Grace and shorter, powerful Marley made things very difficult for the opposition. The first three teams only managed a cumulative three goals in 60 minutes of netball. That is impressive.
The fourth game was the low point of the day, as the Cove Tiger Division 2 team met up against their fellow club team, the Division 3. These players were the third tier players in their age group at the club. Logic would dictate that Ella's team would win however the reason we play games is because the unexpected can happen.
In the 2013 Iron Bowl, #1 ranked Alabama were playing against the underdog #4 ranked Auburn Tigers. This outcome was unexpected and is evidence that the game must be played on the pitch, not on paper.
Back to our Division 2 Tigers. The ghost of last Friday nights team seemed to show up on the fourth game of the tournament and the Tigers were lost. Passing to the opposition, missing the net with shots under the rim, poor defensive coverage. You think of it, and the Division 2 team did it. The coach was trying different tactics of changing player positions, yelling out directions but all to no avail and the draw was a lucky outcome.
This has been the problem with the team this season. We are still at a level at Under 11 where the coach is trying to rotate players to different positions to be fair, and clearly this means that there will be times where the best possible rotation is not being used. Case and point: Ella has fantastic hands, and a pass that is getting better thereby allowing her to utilize her intelligence and vision on the court. Her weaknesses are her speed and her defensive awareness/ferociousness. When she get put at Centre or Wing Attack the game can flow through her. When she is at Wing Defense she offers very little and is a detriment to the team, and yet every second game she is positioned there for a rotational schedule.
So what do you do? Do you accept that the process of letting all the girls play at this young age means that they field an inferior team and risk losing?
As fate would have it, the Division 2 Tigers trounced a very, very young Division 4 team and once again met the Division 3 Tigers in the Semi-final. This time the coach put the premiere line up on the court, with Ella playing centre and wing attack, and the Division 2 players show why they were selected in the higher team. The Tigers trounced the Division 3 team 9-2 in a one sided match that was over by half time.
The Grand Final turned out to be an oxymoron. The match was certainly not "Grand" as our Division 2 team ran into a visiting club team, the Panthers, who were most likely in the wrong division. They smashed our Tigers in a 22-1 drubbing. I think by this point in the day (starting at 8:30 and ending at 16:30) Finn represented the common emotion of our Division 2 runner-ups. T...I...R...E..D.
Congratulations girls on an impressive performance! At the end of the tournament, our Division 2 Tigers were the highest ranked out of all the Cove Tiger teams: Under 11 Div. 1, Under 13 Div 2, Under 13 Div 1, Under 15 and Under 17. Our U11's Div 2 were the only ones to make the Grand Finals. Well done!
Oh, and Happy Anniversary beautiful bride. 12 years of happiness, 3 gorgeous children, and a whole bunch of laughs.
Welcome back Netball fans! I would like to start with a big thanks to the Aunties & Nana's for the comments and potential Tiger jokes. All of the jokes are superior to my Airline cup of coffee joke. (While we are on the topic of Dad jokes: What time is it best to go to the Dentist? Two-Thirty (tooth hurty)).
Before I break down the games, I need to mention the weather. Seriously? What the )*(&%$ is with Friday Nights, Netball and rainstorms? The weather was nice all day on Friday and then it started to rain. Sideways. Rain that went sideways. By the laws of gravity, rain is supposed to fall down. Either that or Newton's apple did more damage than we originally thought.
Karen looked less than impressed wearing all her winter clothing, sitting in the rain with a cranky 2 year old wiggling on her lap. Paint a pretty picture?
The rain did stop. The two year old stopped wiggling. The games went on....and Taylor lost.
U8's: A slightly improved performance, but still a loss.
Morphett Vale 6 - 0 Cove Tigers
Taylor and crew took to the rain-sodden courts and for the first five minutes the ball was strangely in the opposition's end of the court. The little girls were passing the ball, intercepting the occasional pass and even made a shot attempt.
They are improving and the coaching staff is doing a splendid job of slowly teaching the girls concepts in attacking and defending. I was trying to get Taylor to avoid standing in a melee of screaming girls, but rather move to an open space on the court.
" Yah but Dad, my coach tells me I have to dodge."
I don't quite understand what she is referring to, or what she thinks dodge means, but I am glad to hear that she is listening to her coach. Oh, and she intercepted three balls rather than politely ducking.
In the end, the Tiger cubs were brought down again, but they put up a growl in the fight and I am going to claim that as a major success.
U11's: Rounding into form
Hub 6 - 14 Cove Tigers
Ella and the Tiger teammates took to the same courts after the Cubs and put on a fine display of Netballian skills. What a fantastic term you have just created...Netballian. Well Thank you James!
Ella played one quarter at GA which is a change from recent past and scored two very pretty goals. She was then moved to a defensive role and surprisingly had a very strong performance of marking her player. The coach has a difficult situation of having 10 players for a 7 roster team. The outcome is that players are sitting during quarters and often playing out of position so that the masses are appeased.
The team as a whole played very well and avenged an earlier loss to this same Hub team. They still had a second quarter lapse, however the girls rediscovered some form and finished the second half in a dominant fashion.
I hate to sound repetitious but this team is special and has talent at the defensive, center, and offensive positions. The coach needs to find their buttons and keep hammering home concepts so that they avoid that mid-game lapse which has cost them wins throughout the season.
Well, tonight dear readers, we get to witness an example of the very difficult that little girls face growing up:
VS.
Last Friday night the girls' school held a Disco and the girls face the decision and each of them made a different selection:
U8's: Taylor Gunton selected: DISCO
The little girl chose the Disco, one of her first events in the school and who could blame her. She did win a dancing prize (? Why ? How) and had a wonderful time.
Two gorgeous little girls, best friends and fellow netballers. Good on Karen and the Netball coach who asked the girls straight up and let them decide. It is that kind of "no pressure" thinking that lets little girls enjoy sports. Kudos to you brilliant wife.
U11's: Ella Gunton selected: Netball
Cove Tigers (Div 2)* 16 - 8 Cove Tigers (Div 3)
*Ella's team
Ella selected the Netball avenue and prospered with an easy win over her old team. She had just been promoted a few weeks ago from Division 3 up to Division 2 and has enjoyed some success on her new team.
Ella once again played the center and attacking positions that meant that she could use her vision and catching skills to help link the defense and offense together. Once again, her passing skills lag behind the other aspects of her game and she just seems to struggle with making strong passes. She has learned the style of the slow lob pass over the top that is easy to catch and accurate. The issue is that as she has moved up that style of passes has become less effective and is now best reserved for isolated situations.
The other aspect that is becoming exposed is Ella's defensive skills. Ella is a beautiful, kind and respectful little girl. But put her on the Netball court and she becomes....a beautiful, kind and...respectful little girl. We need to light that fire under her.
Maybe at night I will sneak a tape recorder under her bed and push play:
<The other team are not your friends>
<The ball is yours and yours alone. The ball is yours and yours alone>
<Buy your Dad some donuts at the next game>
Something like this. I digress.
Ella's team has been most frustrating to watch this year as they are showing real talent and you can tell the only thing that is missing is synergy. Synergy you ask? Kenny, I can hear you shaking your head. No, trust me it is the right word:
Synergy (Definition):the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects
Good word right Kenny? You know it.
Watch this space because this team will challenge for the title this year. I can tell.
