Another successful season for the Timaru Boys’ High School First XI hockey team will go down in the books, even before a chance to pick up a last piece of major silverware.
The team have travelled to Auckland with a chance to top off an already impressive showing this year by lifting the Rankin Cup at the National Secondary Schools Tournament this week.
This season the side joined Christ’s College as the only team to win the Canterbury secondary schools premier competition back-to-back, became the first team to win the Connetics Shield four years in a row, secured the DB Challenge Trophy for the fourth season in a row, were runners-up in the Hockey South Canterbury Division 1 Championship and narrowly missed out on the Worner Shield by goal difference after finishing first equal with Westlake Boys’ High and Whangārei Boys High School.
They were also named the team of the year for the second consecutive year at the Trust Aoraki South Canterbury Sports Awards.
Head coach Simon Cooper said it had been a big season for the boys which started with a preseason trip to Wellington in March and a strong showing at the Timaru preseason Anzac tournament.
‘‘We did pretty well there and then it’s just been building throughout the season. We’ve had a couple losses but the team’s done pretty well overall.
‘‘I think the success would probably be down to the culture we’ve built — I feel like everyone has just stuck together and stood up in the big games.
‘‘We’re a team, there’s no real individuals in there. So far we’ve played 38 games and we’ve got another seven at the national tournament to go.’’
Timaru Boys’ started their Rankin Cup challenge on Monday, defeating Nelson College 4-2 and Cambridge High School 3-1.
In their final pool game on Tuesday they cruised past Wellington College 5-1 to claim top spot in their group and qualify for the Rankin Cup side of the tournament.
The side will now duke it out with 15 other leading secondary school teams in the country with an eye on the final on Saturday.
Cooper said after taking over as coach last year and adding nine or 10 new players, he did not expect the team to have reached the heights they had so fast.
‘‘The boys set their goals and they’ve just been ticking them off the list. Then this year we added another five or six new ones, so it’s quite cool seeing the senior players and the ones that have been in the team before passing on their experiences to the other fellas and just sort of building on that.
‘‘I think everyone feels welcome and that’s the way you get momentum.’’
He said his goal for the team was not really around winning as many competitions as they could but keeping the boys in hockey after they leave school.
‘‘Goal-wise for me I want to see them enjoy the pathway, grow as players and just keep in the sport with their mates.’’
