HBHS Junior NZ Softball Champions

Hamilton Boys’ High School recently won the Junior National Secondary Schools Softball competion for the second year in a row. Master-in-charge of softball, Mr Paul Nixon, commented on the team’s victory:

 

 

We have just had a brilliant tournament. The team have been led superbly by their coach Cowley Harris, and assisted by Peter Joseph.

 

At the beginning of the year we held a muster that attracted around thirty juniors. We deliberately mixed these boys with the senior players and formed three teams to play in the local Waikato competition. Cowley named a squad of twelve Year 9 and 10 students from those three teams to play in the National Junior Tournament in Wanganui.

 

The squad was made up of nine Year 9s and three Year 10s. The three Year 10s were very experienced softballers, who had played the sport for over five years, and had come through the Peachgrove Intermediate Softball programme. Those three players, Toa Tauranga, Khalid Gilbert, and Vincent (Vinnie) Harris, were named most valuable players in the tournament team. Khalid was our captain, and I though that he was the best player in the tournament. Our Year 9s performed exceedingly well – above the expectations that we had for them. It bodes well for next year that we have so many talented (and now experienced) national tournament players that we can include in the team for 2011.

 

It’s also good that the Year 10s will be available for the Senior National Tournament being held next year in Christchurch. Softball has grown as a code at HBHS, and we anticipate considerably more growth again next year.

 

 

Softball is a great sport because once you’ve learnt the swing and the throwing action, and you have the self-belief to stay focused in front of a pitcher, you will play well. You don’t need to be big – some of the smallest players at the tournament were also the most effective because their technique was so good.

 

The pitching in the local league accommodates the younger players as well as the seniors – we ‘de-force’ the pitch so it is stripped of some of its pace. When we got to Nationals, however, we were coming up against pitchers that were routinely throwing the ball at over 100 kilometres an hour. Consequently the boys were on a steep learning curve from Day One. By the end of the tournament, everyone was hitting those pitches. It was a big step up for our boys to go from the local competition, to facing the best pitchers in New Zealand in their age group. 

 

HBHS’ Vinnie Harris pitched for the whole tournament. That means he pitched two games on the first day, three on the second, two on the third and two on the fourth. Games last for around an hour and a half, so the work that boy put in was mammoth. Vinnie did extremely well – he is a very cool character who doesn’t get flustered. He just stays in the zone, and he had a great tournament.

 

I’d like to thank all of the parents who helped us to self-cater on this trip. Also, I’d like to thank Matron, because we had two boys from the hostel that she sent with prepared meals etc. Things like that really bring the team together. The coaching duo of Cowley and PJ has many decades of softball experience between them, and they were one of the key factors in our success. The accommodation at the Top 10 Park in Wanganui was superb, and the locals were very hospitable and gracious towards us.

 

I’d also like to thank Murray Mckenzie and the senior management team at HBHS for their support this year. We are anticipating an exciting year for Softball in 2011.