Friday, December 6, 2013

G9. Title FIGHT!!!! Showdown of the Top 2!!!

Tigers victorious in the Big Showdown!





Score:    Cove Tigers    14  -  4     Morphett Vale

 


Scorers:   Ella K.  9 goals
               Ella G.  5 Goal


Summary:

 Thank you Taylor for the Guest Post! Your creative spelling and quirky story telling was very entertaining. I like the fact you spent most of the post talking about the uniform colours; classic fashion Diva Taylor.

 Now to the matter of the big game tonight. Why the significance? I am glad you asked. After 8 games in the 2013/14 season, the Morphett Vale team was ranked number 1 and your ferocious Tigers were ranked number 2. The Tigers string of recent victories has obviously helped the team climb the standings quickly.

Call this match up a Showdown.

So  did our Coach M. have the girls ready for the big match? The ferocity and speed of attack employed by your Tigers is best represented visually:





From the opening whistle the Tigers were moving the ball forward with accurate passing and excellent ball support. The shooting duo of Ella & Ella were on form and the score was quickly 3-0. The Morphett Vale team appeared about as stunned as that Elephant rider above. (Is he defending himself with a stick/whip? Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight!)

The Morphett Vale girls, however, aren't number one by chance; they settled down and started a push back, monopolizing on their tall shooter who easily converted her first three chances to even the score.

Coach M. gathered the girls together in the intermission and worked her magic. The second quarter marked the beginning of the end for the Morphett Vale squad as the Tigers defense worked hard to intercept and pressure the game, causing errors and effectively shutting down the tall Vale sniper.

Ella G. hit a very cold streak with shooting as she inexplicably began widely missing the net long and short. Thankfully Ella K. was shooting well and reliably converted her attempts at a high rate. To her credit, Ella G.  avoided frustration and utilized her vision beautifully allowing her to distributed the ball to her team mates and orchestrate the Tiger attack.

With all of the offense and the strong defense, surprisingly the player of the match came from the center with Trang playing like a girl possessed. She was flying into the offensive zone and supporting her defense with back pressure that caused multiple turnovers. My highlight of the night was looking over at Trang's mother, a quiet Asian woman, as the Tiger supporters cheered for Trang, calling her by name. The definition of a proud mother. I asked her if Trang had always been so aggressive and she told me that she had no idea that Trang had this in her. I agree with  the point that guest commentator Janice made a few weeks back. Sport can be very important to these girls.

I need to revisit the schedule but I believe there is a time off now for a period. So the blog may go quiet; thank you all for reading! Ella enjoys the support and I enjoy writing!

Quote:

"Dad, they had some players that were a bit different. My girl I was supposed to defend kept singing and clapping her hands. I told her it was her ball and to pay attention but she kept singing."- Ella G., the ultimate sportswoman, trying to help a girl who clearly would rather be in a sunny field picking daisies.

----------



1. Trang
2. Ella K.
3. Sienna


Monday, December 2, 2013

G8. Another win and a fantabulous guest post!

Tigers take down the mighty Hub





Score:    Cove Tiger  (Group 8)*     8  -  2     Hub   

 

* Ella's team


Scorers:   Ella G.  4 goals
               Ella K.   4 Goal


Summary:

 Well you are all in for a treat. Seeing as how I was working, I employed a reliable associate to stand in my place. I hope you enjoy the lyrical prose of Miss. Taylor D. E. Gunton (In reception/pre-school, Age 5):

   it was a fun game. the wethr was like ok but i forgt thay wun! the yaform was ylo and red.

cove was ylo and hub teem was red and i wood like to play netbol.



Quote:

 " Dad, I tricked you. I really didn't watch the game at all"  - Taylor Gunton, who spent the game on the sidelines, but apparently not watching. 

----------



1.Ella G.
2. Ella K.
3. (Tay couldn't remember any other players)

Out of interest, the Hub were the same team that the Tigers played in the opening game of the season. They lost that game 9-3. Recall the expression, Revenge is a dish best served cold. 8 games into the season, the Tigers came back for a second helping apparently!

Friday, November 22, 2013

G7: Tigers back on the winning trail



Tigers pounce on the....Tigers?





Score:    Cove Tiger  (Group 8)*     12   -  1     Cove Tigers  (Group 7)   

 

* Ella's team


Scorers:   Ella G.  7 goals
               Shay     5 Goal


Summary:

   Thank you Ella for last week's Guest Post! Very popular amongst our devoted readers.

   This week's contest took place on yet another cold, breezy Friday evening. Somebody should inform Adelaide that it is now the warmer months, and parents don't like to be cold while watching Netball.

  But our Cove Tigers came to play tonight and the weather did not matter one little bit.

  From the first whistle, the Tigers (our Group 8) were on the attack and pressing hard on the defensive side of the ball. It was a complete performance, with the sole exception of the shooting. Ella K was unfortunately ill and Shay was moved to the goal shooting position and played well in a foreign role for the team.

But Oh, that shooting.

  Ella G had at least 10 shooting attempts in the first quarter alone and converted on only 1. It quickly turned into a groaning situation as the ball kept skipping off the rim or air mailing the entire net. The 12-1 score is rather complimentary to the opposition as Ella and her Tigers should have put up well over 20 tonight.  The evening total of 7 goals was still impressive for Ella but that shooting percentage means Dad needs to spend more time at the local park with my favourite netballer!

 The strength of the Tigers performance was their defensive play tonight. Sienna, back from injury, was a force on defense; I watched her develop a new technique of hanging back off her assigned player, giving the impression of an on open receiver and then quickly closing the space and intercepting the ball time and again. Ashley was also very strong, complimenting Sienna with her intercepting ability.  The center and wings benefited from the solid defensive platform as three girls in the middle were excellent tonight.

 Generally this team is showing the benefits of strong coaching and players acclimatizing to their positions. They are a real joy to watch as they progress through the season! 


Quote of the Game:

" Well, we are not Division 8. We are team 8. We are now all the same Division." - Our Coach when asked about the nomenclature change.

 My impression (albeit a confused one) is that the re-arrangement that happened a few weeks ago was to settle the grumblings about a Division 8 (of 8) team easily handling the Division 6 and 7 teams. Now the teams are Groups or Teams.   You confused? Me too.

 Ella explained that Team 1 of her age group is not necessarily the best (yes they are) but it is based on age and height (no it isn't). So apparently Ella is confused as well.

Bottom line?  They won and had fun.

Next week I am working a late shift and am trying to recruit a guest poster. I have one in mind. Stay tuned.

 -----------


1.Sienna
2. Ashley
3. Ella G.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

G6: Two losses in a row?! Tigers are not so Happy


Tigers get in lost in Happy Valley (barely)





Score:    Happy Valley      8   -  7        Cove Tigers      




Scorers:   Ella G.  4 goals
               Ella K.  2 Goals
            Shay  1 Goal


Guest Post:  Written by Ella G!

Thanks for all of the nice messages and support. 

On friday night we played happy valley and it was a close game.

Near the end it was 7-7  but then valley got a score and it was 8-7 and they ended up winning by 1.

But I think we played really well. 



 -----------


1.Sienna
2.Ella G + K
3. Trang

(Voted on by Ella G and Ella K)



Wednesday, November 13, 2013

G5: Beware the Lady Bugs.

LadyBugs SmotherTigers




Score:    Lady Bugs      11   -  8        Cove Tigers      




Scorers:   Ella G.  5 goals
               Ella K.  3 Goals


(N.B. You will notice that the shooting percentage has been discontinued. With the distractions on the sidelines (preventing children from running onto the court) this feature will unfortunately have to be shelved).

Summary:

  On a rare cold and windy Friday evening, the Cove Tigers played a new opponent, the terrifying Lady Bugs. I added terrifying because Lady Bugs on its' own just sounds...well....lame. Unfortunately the friendly insects took down our mighty Tigers in a match that seemed to struggle to find a flow.

  During the last blog I discussed the fact that the rumblings were beginning about a Division 8 Team (of 8) defeating two teams that were ranked higher than them. The net result was a reshuffling of the division and Friday's game was the first game post realignment. The Lady Bugs were moved down from a higher division to play against our Cove Tigers.

  The Lady Bugs showed early on that they could move the ball with skill from the defense but were rarely rewarded for their efforts due to poor shooting. For the first two quarters the Tigers were reeling from wave after wave of Lady Bugs attacking and missing the conversion. After the half with a few pointers from the coach, the girls settled down and started to find the same chemistry that allowed them to dominate the last two games. Unfortunately, the poor goal shooting was endemic on this night and our shooting star, Ella K, struggled with multiple attempts. Ella G. also struggled, but was able to net 5 goals on the evening.

  The Tigers defense took a step back this game after showing significant improvement in the last two outings. Once again, Sienna was out with an injury and her absence was notable as Trang and Ashley had difficulty for the first half of the game dealing with the pressure of the Lady Bugs. The duo settled into their game in the second half and finished very well, allowing the Tigers to attempt a comeback. 

The Next Game will be a Guest Post from a certain player....perhaps our number one star (see below)!

Quote of the Game:

"That team came from a higher division. We played pretty well" - Ella G.


 -----------


1. Ella G.
2. Trang
3. Ashley

Saturday, November 2, 2013

G4: Tigers Win Two in a Row

Tigers Stalk Down Another Higher Division Opponent



Score:    Cove Tigers (Div. 8)*     18   -   0      Cove Tigers (Div. 7)


*: Ella G.'s team is the Division 8 of 8.

Scorers:   Ella K.  12 goals
               Ella G. 6 Goals

Ella G. Shooting Percentage:   6/11( 57%)
Season shooting percentage:   46%

Summary:

 The word on the street is there are grumblings about last week's upset where a Division 8 team (Your Tigers) took down a Division 6 team. Oh Momma, wait till they get a load of today's performance. 

  Upon the opening whistle, the Division 8 Tigers grabbed the game by the throat with a quick succession of passes and a conversion on their first shot attempt. After a few more similar plays with an escalating score, the game plan became clear. The coach had the defense working in a tight and aggressive scheme which limited the opposition to only a few opportunities. Sienna, the defensive star from last week's win, was out with an injury however her aggressive play seemed to inspire the defense and center. The polite play was a thing of the past and a new era of aggression seems to have emerged. The star tonight was Trang who denied entry time and again into their zone and kept the ball moving in the right direction.

  The offense was playing well from the initial whistle and despite running into some cold shooting in the final quarter delivered an impressive performance. Ella K found her range early and scored a team high 12 goals. The partnership of Ella K and G worked smoothly supporting each other and sharing the ball for optimal shooting position. A new talent emerged today as a younger player, Shia, showed promising signs at Wing Attack. This is a position that links the center and the shooting duo of the Ellas. Shia began to be more vocal and was omnipresent in the attack, offering the center more options as they moved the ball forward repeatedly. 

  Here is Ella showing the Netball shooting position that she employed for a personal high of 6 goals! 



Next game is on 8/11/3 against the Happy Valley Div 5 team.

Quote of the Game:

"I like winning better than losing. Dad, now can you turn the radio up again?" - Ella G.


 -----------


1. Ella K
2. Trang
3. Shia

Friday, November 1, 2013

G3: Tigers Roar to First Victory!

The Little Tigers (Div.8) take down the Big Brothers (Div. 6)




Score:    Cove Tigers (Div. 8)*     8  -   3      Cove Tigers (Div. 6)


*: Ella G.'s team is the Division 8...of 8.

Scorers:   Ella K.  4 goals
               Ella G. 4 Goals

Ella G. Shooting Percentage:   4/7 ( 57%)
Season shooting percentage:   40%



Summary:

Once again, the Cove Tigers graced the netball courts on a beautiful Friday evening. For those that have not been to Adelaide you are missing out on some of the great climates in this world. There were so many spectators that at one point in the evening they were forced to stack one on another:




 Once again there were roster changes with the big news of nil players being promoted and one new player, Sienna, being added to the team. What would eventually turn out to be a first win had an auspicious start with the underdog Division 8 Tigers falling behind 2-0 to the higher ranked Division 6. However, the team slowly settled into the game and began transitioning the ball with surprising alacrity.

 By the half time, the game had begun to favour the underdogs with the Division 8 players taking the lead and never looking back. The attacking duo of Ella G and Ella K showed chemistry known only to those of a shared-name. Ella G. converted an impressive 57% of her attempts, lifting her season average to 40%. Out of interest, I consulted wikiAnswers and a "good" shooting percentage is 80%. Not too far off in her first season!

 Worth mentioning, is the play of the new goal defender, Sienna, who brought a level of aggressiveness that the Tigers' had not yet displayed. Rather than politely waiting for a missed goal or a missed pass, Sienna would step in between pass attempts and deflect shot attempts. The center position was another pleasant surprise as Trang was moved from defense to center and provided a solid base for the attack. 

At the final buzzer, the score was 8-3 and the coach had adopted a strange idea whereby she had not told the girls the score and announced the victory in the post-game scrum. There was a lot of screaming and cheering; the team had naturally assumed a loss given the first two games.

Quote of the Night:

This one is visual:



 -----------


1. Ella G
2. Sienna
3. Trang

The next game (1/11/13) features the Tigers (Div.8) taking on the higher ranked Cove team (Div. 7).

Friday, October 18, 2013

G2: Tigers get stunned by the Noarlunga HorseShoes

Cove were left looking for a place to hide





SCORE:  Noarlunga  33 - 2  Cove


Scorers:  Ella K: 2 goals

Ella G. Shooting Percentage: 0/0
Season Shooting Average:  25%

Summary:

That scoring line was not a misprint; the Tigers got badly stomped tonight by the Noarlunga HorseShoes on an otherwise beautiful Friday evening. Can we start by asking the obvious question here? Noarlunga HorseShoes? The Tigers may have been the inferior team, but at least they aren't saddled (apologies) by such an unfortunate team name.

Before the review of the game, a brief glimpse into the pre-game routine of a professional athlete. It is very important to ensure that you eat a balanced diet of carbohydrate and protein hours before a game. Or, as Ella shows us, Subway in the car on the way to the game!



The Tigers found a better transition game tonight with a strong performance by Brianna in the center position. This, from my limited understanding, is the most active player in the game who acts as the link between the defenders and shooters. The one quarter that Brianna was moved out of the center position the game badly titled toward the Tiger's end with no movement forward. 

The defence struggled tonight with the Noarlunga attackers as the were seemingly unable to gather rebounds or prevent the barrage of shots we witnessed tonight. The Shoes (seriously?) were able to enter the Tiger's zone repeatedly without any resistance and put up shot after shot. After one particularly long string of attempts, the ball was collected by the Tiger's defender and a Shoes' supporter beside me said, "Oh thank God for that."

The offence had limited opportunity and limited is a word that might be too generous here. Ella K had three shot attempts and scored an impressive two goals. Despite Brianna's efforts, there was simply not enough support from the transitioning players to allow the ball to move to a scoring position. Ella G. had no shot attempts and aside from one beautiful interception and feed to Ella K for an eventual goal, had a quiet evening. With the rotating roster, Ella G. sat the last quarter out, right on this beat reporter's lap. It was the highlight of the night.

A frustrating night for the fans, however the players were immune to it all. Ella G. had fun. I think, last time I checked at least, that was the most important thing about the game.

The next game is on 25/10/13.

Quote of the game:

" Because two new players joined up, one of our players is going to be moved up to Division 7." - Ella G.

Who is it going to be? Our sole defender Ashlyn? Our goal shooter Ella K? Our fan favourite Ella G? After a 33-2 walloping this team is hardly in a place where they can lose a top player. 

                                                       ---------------------------------


  1. Brianna
2. Ella K.
3. Ella G.




G1: Tigers stumble in Season Opener

A roar turned into a mere growl...


SCORE:  HUB  9 - 3  COVE 


Scorers:  Ella K: 1 goal
                Ella G: 2 goals

Ella G. Shooting Percentage: 2/8 (25%)
Season Shooting Average:  25%

Summary:

The season opener took place on a beautiful Friday night with ideal temperatures for netball. For the Cove Tigers, the opening night turned out to be one of nervous excitement turned mild disappointment as they lost their opener in a 9-3 score. 

The game was a game of firsts in many respects. It was the first time the girls have donned their orange and black uniforms. 


It was also the first time that they played as a team against real competition. For three of the players, it was their first game of netball.

Due to weather issues, the Tigers had limited practice time leading up to the contest and this became apparent as the game progressed. The team clearly lacked a transition game from the defence to the offence. However, the team showed strength at both ends of the court. 

The duo of Ella G and Ella K. played Goal Attack and Goal Shooter respectively, and they demonstrated surprising chemistry. Once they discovered that the taller defenders were vulnerable to the bounce pass the duo started to find each other in better shooting positions. The shooting was a challenge due to lack of practice and a net that may have been higher than the goals were accustomed to. 

On the defensive end, a Tiger's player named Ashley played a strong game interrupting the HUB attack and distributing the ball well up the court. The HUB team had the ability to move the ball quickly from defence to offence in a few short passes and the Tiger's defence spent large portions of the game under attack.

Aside from playing a new team there were other adjustments that were a challenge. Ella G. spoke of the difficulties of playing her first game at night. "The first two quarters it was too sunny. The third quarter was perfect and the fourth quarter was too dark." 

At the final buzzer, the score may not have been reflective of the true nature of the game as the Tigers were sorely pressed for a majority of the time. It speaks to the play of Ashley and other defenders that the HUB never breached the double digit mark. 

The next game is 18/10/13.

Quote of the Game:

"We had three players who had never played netball before. " - Coach M., who seemed generally pleased with the overall Tiger's performance. 


 -----------


1. Ashley
2. Ella G
3. Ella K

(NB. The three stars of the game will be decided after a discussion with other parents and viewers.)
(NB X 2: Duo to the policy of the Netball courts, there will not be any images from the games.)

Welcome to your Cove Tigers! (Division 8)


Is That Tiger Carrying a Netball?




Yes, yes he is. (Thank you Karen for the cutting edge graphics to open the blogpost season!)

Welcome to the 2013/2014 Netball season for your Tiger Cove Division 8 team!

This blog is a documentation of Ella and her team as they journey through the season. Most readers would know that I am a die hard Edmonton Oilers fan and this qualifies me to blog about the Tigers on one major front:

I am used to watching a young, inexperienced team struggle.

The fact that I know nothing at this stage about Netball tactics, rule, strategies or anything is not a deterrent . Most of the girls seem to be confused as well when a whistle is blown. I am sure blogger and players alike will gain experience throughout the season.

I will be adding extras for Ella like shooting percentages and running percentages thoughout the season. 

Enjoy the blog and comment as you will!

-J