2009 Sydney Junior Championships Finals Report.
George Angelis, Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Over the weekend of the 5th & 6th of December the Finals of the Sydney Championships were played.
After finishing the preliminary rounds in second place our Under 12’s entered the finals full of hope and enthusiasm. Saturday saw good wins against Ryde (6 – 2) and Manly (18 – 1). The game against Hills on Sunday was then effectively the Grand Final, the two previous encounters between the teams had been close run affairs and hard fought game was anticipated. This is what was eventuated after 4 innings Hills led 1 – 0. The fifth innings saw Hills explode for 6 runs to run away with the game. Hills were deserving champions having conceded only 13 runs in 13 games over the course of the season. After the game it became apparent that we had miscalculated our defensive out requirements for the finals and failed to qualify one player by 2 defensive outs – this resulted in our relegation to 4th place. This final placing should not detract from the effort the players and coaches put in over the season and all involved should be proud of the improvement in players’ skills and performances over the year.
Our Under 14’s finished the preliminary rounds undefeated, though they did have one draw. They entered the finals on a high after beating Hills 8 – 0 in the last game before the finals. In the finals they showed what a champion team is all about - in a mixture of grit, determination, ability, strategy and teamwork - they shone through to win all 3 games (20 – 9 over Bankstown, 10 – 7 over Ryde and 6 – 1 over Hills). The whole squad made vital contributions to the result and whilst there are 7 state representatives in the squad it was the contributions of the other players that meant that this was a true team effort. Many of the players in this side played in the Under 12 championship side from 2 years ago however for some of the players it was their first taste of success at this level. Congratulations to all involved in developing this champion side.
Our Under 16’s entered the finals in 4th place and were considered the underdogs going in. The team showed great fighting abilities and spirit to lead in all 3 of their finals games only to succumb to the opposition late in each of the games. The players are to be congratulated for their courage and commitment and can certainly be proud of their efforts.
John Kovacs
Executive Head Coach
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