Friday Night Lights: Semifinal night, an end to the Season

                     

 Cove Tigers             11           -       13            Hub

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!

Friday Nights Lights: Season Finale!

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.

Friday Night Lights: A Monumental First!

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.