Sacred Heart top school

Press, 18 September 1976, Page 16

Sacred Heart top school

Sacred Heart College has for the third consecutive year won the South Island inter-secou-dary netball championship. This is a feat unparalleled in the history of the tournament. The coach Mrs L. Barnett, attributes the fact that

the team went through the tournament without a loss to, firstly, the basic natural ability that the girls have and. secondly, to their fine team spirit. The versatility of the girls enabled them to adjust their play to counteract the moves of

the other players. They were able to swing from a man-to-man defence to a semi zone defence as play demanded.

On occasions, the weather in Invercargill dictated short quick passes rather than the lob and this the A team from Sacred Heart College was quick to see. “The harder the game, the harder the girls played,” said Mrs Barnett. She considers the team’s toughest encounter was in the semi-final against Motueka High School, “The team realised it had everything at stake and rose to the occasion, winning 2512.”

The Final was against Kaikoura, which began raggedly until some fine shooting by Dianna Nellis and Genae Katae put Sacred Heart ahead, 26-20.

Whilst reluctant to give credit to the coach’s role in this achievement, Mrs Barnett did say that she thinks it is most important that the coach of the school team is a teacher.

A student’s place in the A team must combine and

work in with her academic studies. An outsider to the college does not always appreciate this. In what was surely a team effort, no player outshone another but it is worthy of mention that the ■ captain, Karen Erikson, at wing defence, did not play a bad game in the five days of the competition. Her quiet leadership was effective under pressure.

Genae Katae, at goal attack, showed good direction at the top of the circle enabling the goal shoot, Diana Nellis, to position herself under the goal. The height and vertical leap of the goal keep, Helena Kramer, was also an advantage on defence. Sacred Heart College has not only been successful at the South Island level but also has an enviable record in the Canterbury secondary schools’ competition. In this, it entered the maximum number of teams and won five out of the eight grades. The depth of talent at the school augurs well for the future.