Our Junior Boys Volleyball team competed at the Auckland Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Championships held at the Trust Arena in Henderson.
It was the first time our school had sent a team to this tournament and the decision was made due to the incredible improvements that this group of young men had made throughout their 5 weeks of playing together.
It was always going to be a steep learning curve being one of three B Grade teams competing against others from A and Premier Grades from the greater Auckland region.
The boys played Top 10 ranked One Tree Hill College and Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate in their first two pool games, followed by Kelston Boys 2nd team.
They suffered 3 consecutive losses but played incredibly well considering the vast difference in class. Set scores were 19-25, 18-25 (OTHC); 17-25, 20-25 (Hillary); 17-25, 25-27 (Kelston).
These results pushed the boys into playoffs for the bottom three positions of the tournament against St Kentigern College and De La Salle College 2.
Unfortunately they were unable to pick up wins in either of their games despite comfortably winning the opening sets 25-15 and 25-17 respectively, finishing in last place.
You’d think that coming away in dead last position and being unable to win a single game would mean this venture was a failure. It wasn’t. This tournament was never about seeking out a championship or a high ranking. It was an opportunity for the boys to learn more about the game, about themselves and grow as a team.
This tournament definitely ticked all those boxes but it also showed the boys that despite having many first year players, having no pre-season and having only played together for 5 weeks; that they weren’t all that far off being a top 20 or even a top 10 volleyball team.
It’s certainly a hard road to taking that next step and there is an awful lot of development to be made. However, this group of boys really impressed me this season and I have no doubts that if they show dedication and commitment to this sport (and any other sport) that they will achieve incredible things during their time at Sancta Maria College.
You heard it here first.
Jason Crummer
Director of Sport/Junior Boys Volleyball Manager
