After the first day, we were the only unbeaten team in our pool. The game on the next day appeared to be the all important one of the pool. This was against last year's tournament winner Auckland Grammar. After losing the day before, Grammar had to win to stay in contention for the top eight. It was the best game that the team played during the tournament. Played at a frantic pace, Boys' High were the first to score. Sammie Waahero fought his way through the Grammar defence and headed a ball off the ground into the net. Grammar fought back and equalised late in the first half. The game looked as if it was going to c. draw, however substitute player Ian Pearson , one minute before full time, took a pass from Sammie Waahero- with one touch crossed it into the box and Mauricio managed to get his head to it and nudged it into the back of the net. A 2-1 win to Boys' High. The afternoon game was against Hastings Boys', the result was a 5owin to Boys' High. At the end of the second day NPBHS had one more pool game to go, however they had already qualified for the top eight. We had scored 18 goals and only conceded four. We were the newcomers to the tournament, howeve r we were seen as one of the teams to beat. The last pool game was against Christ College, and after already qualifying this allowed the team to rest the key players. The result was a 2-1 win to Christ College and their first win of the tournament. It was then into the sudden death quarter and semi-finals on the Thursday. The first team we played was Kings High School. The team made hard work of this game winn ing by only one goal, scored by Mauricio's head once again. Thi s win put us into the top four. Our semi final match was against Palmerston North Boys' High School. In this game the team was totally outclassed, Palmerston dominated the first half and our strikers hardly got a scoring opportunity. To the team 's credit they didn't give up and started to create some opportunities in the second half. However the damage had been done. Palmerston won 40 and went on to win the tournament. The last game of the tournament was the play-off for third and fourth against Avondale College, a game we won 2-1 with Sammie Waahero scoring the two goals. NPBHS started the tournament as a virtual unknown and finished third in New Zealand. Andrew Gordon was announced in the National tournament team. Adam Yates, Hayden Markham and Andrew Gordon were identified by the National coach as potential junior All Whites. Special thanks must be given to MrTodd Gunning and Mr Darryl Leath who acted as assistant managers during the tournament.
lan Pearson: lan is one of the youngest players of the team wno played his football at left half this year. A determined player will not be intimidated by the opposition. Neil Clarke: Neil spent a lot of time on the bench this year. He played most of his football at right half. His strength was his ability to put little passes in to set up the strikers. Mauricio Gonzalez: Mauricio was an exchange student from Costa Rica. At striker he showed a beautiful touch of the ball. He was also very good at heading the ball, very dangerous at set plays. Andrew Gordon: Andrew played all the interschool games for the team. He played in the midfield and had a great ability to read the game. The only tournament team player in the team and was identified by the National Coach as a potential junior All White. Patrick Pikacha: Patrick was unable to play any of the Saturday games for us, but when he did get on the field he showed a lot of speed and skill. Matthew Goodey: Matthew was a late inclusion in the team for the tournament. He was a great asset to the team as he could play in the midfield and the backs. Shows a good touch of the ball. 1994 was a remarkable season for the First X1. What started as a rebuilding year ended as probably the most successful year in the school's history. Credit must be given to the team's coach, Dave Chapman. A man who had had no association with the school until this yea r, Dave has given up a lot of time and devoted a lot of energy to the team. THE RECORD IN 1994 Third in New Zealand; second in the TFA Premier competition; winners of the Dr DE Brown Memorial Shield ; played 15 interschools, won 12, lost 3, drawn 1; total games played 36, won 27, lost 5, drawn 4. HUGH RUSSELL, Manager.
SECOND XI SOCCER
THIRD XI SOCCER The Third XI were a very young te am, lack ing in experience and were forced to play in a men's division (Division 1) in Taranaki. Despite several heavy losses the team showed cou rage, commitment and enthusiasm, with coach Johnathon Harmer and a parent, Mr Bird, providing quality coaching for the team. A highlight of the season was the 0-0 draw with the Second XI. The team moved to the U15 division which su ited it since most of the team were 4th formers. Th e team fared better in this competition with some success. A good season was had by al l but in particular Grant Howard (goalkeeper), Duane Old (striker) , Jarred Amies (wing) and Kane Mcintyre (striker/midfield) had oustanding seasons.
U15A SOCCER
INTERSCHOOL RECORD Hamilton Boys' -lost 1-0; Tauranga Boys- won 9-7; Whakatane High School- won 4-1; St Paul's Collegiate- won 6-1; Wanganui Collegiate -draw 2-2; Wellington College- won 2-0; Wanganui City College- won 2-1; Rongotai College - won 5-2; De La Salle - won 5-1 ; Auckland Grammar- won 2-1; Hastings Boys'- won 6-0 ; Christ College -lost 21; Kings High School - won 1-0; Palmerston North Boys' - lost 4-0; Avondale College- won 2-1 PLAYER PROFILES Brad Scott: Brad was this year's Captain, he played his football in the centre midfield. A talented footballer who is determined and competitive, he scored a lot of goals from the midfield. Hayden Markham: Hayden was convinced to switch positions this year from the midfield to sweeper. A reliable player who is solid in defence, he was identified as a potential Junior All White. This year's Vice Captain. Hamish Bracegirdle: Hamish played as centre back, a player who liked to run with the ball and beat his man. Adam Yates: The team's goal keeper, Adam went from strength to strength as the season progressed. As a fourth former he has enormous potentional. Another player who was identified in the Junior All White programme. Michael Smith: This was Michael's second year in the team, he played in the midfield with Brad Scott. However, in the college matches he moved to left wing to allow Andrew Gordon to play in the middle. A very dependable and reliable player. Travis O'Brien: This year Travis has been serving his apprenticeship on the reserve bench . A real asset to the team as he can play in most positions. He has shown a real improvement as the season progressed. Gavin Hughes: Gavin played as rightbackforthe team .His trademark was his hard and determined tackles. Monty Ammundsen: Monty was a utility player in 1993, however this year he made the position of left back his own. A reliable defender with a level head. Dick Boara: Dick is one of the Solomon Islanders in the team. He started the season as a back, however he was later moved to the right half to take advantage of his striking ability. A real character in the team. Sammie Waahero: Sammie plays striker for the team , a former age representative for the Solomon Islands. The team's top goal scorer scored the second most goals at the National tournament.
It was a problem getting combinations settled. The team consisted of a mixture of youth and experienced campaigners. Most of the players had on occasions to play out of position and I'm sure they benefitted from this. Captain Steve Roguski sustained a broken wrist early in the season and the mantle of captaincy was taken up by Ronald Warsal until Steve's return. Goalkeeper Simon Edgecombe was a late inclusion in the team and was a more than capable replacement for the agile Davey Probert, who played outfield. The highlight of the season was our victory over league winners, Kaponga. We gave them their only defeat of the year. I'd like to thank all of the players, Karl Alatoa, Grant Campbell, Nick Creery, Jonathon Day, Matthew Dempsey. Simon Edgecombe, Matthew Hook, Calum Jamieson , Jae Lee, Solomona Leuelu , Jonathon Mcluskie, Davey Probert, Steve Roguski , Richard Simbolo, Matthew Thoresen and Ronald Warsal. They were a credit to their school, both on and off the field . Also my appreciation to the parents who came along to support the boys. Last, but not least, my indebtedness to manager Elliott Jones. His contribution was enormous. Endless hours on the phone, handling last minute changes, chasing up players and organising lifts. He even kitted up once, ready to play if necessary. Fortunately for all of us his twinkle toes we ren 't needed. On behalf of the team I congratulate Nick Creery and Matthew Dempsey on their success with the Taranaki Under 14 rep side, and special thanks to Nebulite for their assistance in the purchase of track suit tops. TAM MciNALLY, Coach.
NPBHS SECOND XI SOCCER 1994 Back Row: Jonathon Mcluskie, MatthewThorenson, Jae Lee, Matthew Hook, Grant Campbell, Davy Probert. Second Row: Mr Tom Mclnally (Coach), Ronald Warsal, Richard Sirnbolo, Solomona Leuelu , Simon Edgecombe, Jonathon Day, Mr Elliott Jones (Manager). Front Row: Calum Jamieson, Karl Alatoa, Steve Roguski (Captain), Nick Creery, Matthew Dempsey. The Second XI can look back with satisfaction on this year's endeavours . While the results weren't quite there on the scoreboard, this in no way diminishes how well the team played during the season. Admittedly, at times watching them play was like being on an emotional rollercoaster, one moment playing sound and attractive soccer, the next stilted and disjointed. Through necessity, due to a combination of injuries and flu epidemics, the number of players in the squad increased to 16. Even with this number of personnel, the team sometimes still came up short on numbers. It was at these times that members of the school sporting fraternity came to our assistance. Rugby, basketball and First XI soccer players were called upon, as well as a couple of ex-soccer players who were called out of retirement and their help was greatly appreciated. The final game - our second inter-college match, was against Wanganui Collegiate and we dealt to them wtih a scoreline of 110-3, with some excellent play from both backs and forwards. A total of 18 tries were scored (14 to the backs) and was a fitting finale to the season.
Page 42
Coach: Mr Glen Hooper; Manager: Mr Andrew Bone; Results: Winners of preliminary U15 round, Winners of Division One U 15; Goals for: 35; Goals Against: 10. An excellent season for the team thanks largely to a good team spirit and the encouragement and quality coaching provided by Mr Hooper. Even though he could not attend all the games through work commitments, video tapes were made so as to give excellent feedback and improvement of strategies. Many of the individual players had outstanding seasons. Mark Beccard, Andrew O'Keefe, Simon Robinson , Jens Laursen and Scott Smith all represented Taranaki in the U 14 age group while Oily Schumacher played for the U15 age group. In goal David Frentz had a slow start to the season but quickly improved with an outstanding game vs Waitara three weeks into the competition. David earned the Most Improved Player of the Season award. But he only just edged out Matthew Crawford whose skills and tactics at left back made huge gains this year. Frazer Hopkins had a fine start at right back, but injury forced him to the sideline for the latter half of the season. Simon Robinson and Andrew O'Keefe controlled the backline well and were well supported by Simon and Matthew Gleeson. The midfield was largely the domain of Mark Beccard whose distribution of the field was sorely missed for the time he was out due to injury. Scott Smith also played strongly in this position as well as striker. The left half position started out with Jens Laursen, but again injury took its toll and Jonathon Ameriks was given his chance to show and develop his skills. Right half was Chris Ruyters whose pace easily could leave behind most defenders when he used it to full advantage. Karl Laird also had a good season in rightfield . Up front the control and shooting of Oily Schumacher and Scott Smith worked well with the gritty determination of Paul Cochrane. Scott finished with 13 goals with Oily only one behind on 12. A late-comer to the team, Ryan Pelham , substituted for most positions on the field showing most skill in the halves. A special thanks to the support of the parents families and friends of the team. With your co-operation the season could not possibly have run as smoothly as it did. Hope we see you again next season. Thanks also to Glen Hooper for a superb season's coaching. The team wishes you all the best for your future, both on and off the field . ANDREW BONE, Manager.
SOCCER U15B How can a team who didn't have many wins and draws still have a successful season? Mr Laurenson (assembly, September 16} gave the answer to that question in his "lecture" about the criteria for success. So why did the U15B team have a successful season despite poor results and shocking weather? Almost all the team members were positive and willing to learn from every game. Virtually the entire team deserved a Fair Play award. Nobody lost control or criticised the opposition and/or referee . I would like to compliment the following players in particular. Jared Vosseler had an excellent season in goal. Daniel Nelson, Andrew Gilkison and Matthew Bell had the right attitude in defence in front of the responsible captain/sweeper Jared Green. Matthew Johnston and Scott Hollins were very skilful in the midfield with good dribbling and passing skills. Sam Fenney and Aaron adapted really well to the different positions they played in. These players and almost all the others made pleasing progress and should do very well next season. Thanks to Chris Kerr and Mr Northcott for assisting and standing in during my absence, and to those parents for standing by the team and driving to away games. You all contributed to a suGcessful season. B. VENEMA, Manager/Coach.
Page 43