COLLEGE TEAM

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1938, Page 23

COLLEGE TEAM

AUCKLAND MANAGER

MR. W. R. MARTIN

Few Soccer administrators in New Zealand have done as much for secondary school football as Mr. W. R. Martin, one of the joint-managers of the Dominion college team which left yesterday for a tour of Australia. During the 12 years he has been a master at the Mount Albert Grammar School, he has played a prominent part in all Soccer activities and has been largely responsible for establishing the game on a sound footing in the colleges. In addition, he was intimately connected with the formation of the Mount Albert Grammar Old Boys' Club, which has risen to a high position in the Auckland Association's competition, says the Auckland "Herald." Mr. Martin's first experience of the round-ball game was gained as a member of the Northcote Club in 1917 and the following year he joined V.M.C.A. He passed through the Auckland Grammar School, the Training College, and the Auckland University, but, as none of these colleges had at that time. embraced the Soccer code, he turned his attention to Rugby football. With his appointment to the staff of the Mount Albert Grammar School, his interest swung back to Soccer and he spared himself neither time nor effort in an endeavour to raise the standard of the code in the colleges. He has acted as selector and manager of Auckland secondary school teams since 1928 and the fine influence he exerted on the players while they were at school resulted in many of them, who ordinarily would have forsaken the code, passing through to club football. The establishment of this connecting link between college and club football has been Mr. Martin's principal aim. AUCKLAND BOYS. All four Auckland members of the team have been pupils at the Mount Albert Grammar School for the past three years and were members of the secondary school junior representative team last season, H. J. Irvine has played for the Comrades Club throughout the junior grades and is a brilliant player at in-side-left in the club's fourth grade team. He is outstanding among the college teams for his sound, constructive, and positional play. He uses both feet equally well and has scored consistently in school and club football. Irvine is a member of the school first cricket eleven, and is considered a good all-rounder. D. D. Taylor can fill any defensive position with distinction, but shows to most advantage at left-half. He is also a good allrounder at cricket. E. G. McLachlan plays for Grey Lynn in club football in the same position as he does for the school, on the left wing. He has sound ball control and a good turn of speed, and combines well with Irvine to make a very dangerous wing. E. F. Boddy plays for V.M.C.A. in club football and is a sound back on either side. In fact, he can play with confidence in any defensive position. CANTERBURY'S TWO. F." R. Davey and J. Shanahan, the two Canterbury members of the team, learned their Soccer at Marist primary school and the Christchurch Technical High. Both were representatives at primary school, following their successes there by representing Canterbury in their respective • grades and by playing for Technical College for the last three seasons. They have also enjoyed success in other branches of sport, as they have been picked for the college cricket and shooting teams, besides being prominent runners and tennis players. Davey handles the ball extremely well and the experience he has gained through his father's coaching and his playing for representative teams makes him as capable as most adult players. Shanahan, too, has a wide experience of the game. He has a tremendously I powerful kick which he uses to ad-

vantage in both attack and defence.

Both boys are extremely cool in • hard game, often taking a large shan^ in turning the tables to their side* advantage. They are perhaps the most promising young players that Canterbury has produced for a number of years and should go a long way in th* football world.