Sacred Heart Girls’ College’s netball and hockey teams flew the school’s flag high by winning a raft of awards and placing well in the annual Mission Cup and Te Toa tournaments. 

The two-day competition, held at Sacred Heart Hamilton in Cambridge, saw its Napier sister school’s premier netball team place third in the Mission Cup, and their fellow 1st XI Hockey team also place third in the Te Toa tournament. 

But the accolades for the college did not stop there, with the hockey girls awarded the Fairplay Cup, and captain Tessa Coory recognised as runner-up tournament MVP. Acacia Tamihana-Joe was awarded most valuable netball player out of the whole tournament.

Netball manager Anna Campbell said the team that came to the competition went home with a whole new attitude, self-belief and friendship that is translating to their weekly game in the local competition. 

“Over the two days and the four games, they developed in their skill, communication and ability to play together cohesively on the court,” Anna said. 

The team’s placing was a result of a draw with St Joseph's Māori Girls' College and a win over Sacred Heart Lower Hutt.   

“The highlight of the tournament was seeing the team’s faces and watching the jubilation at beating Sacred Heart Lower Hutt and seeing them raise their game to a whole new level against the high-performing Sacred Heart Hamilton team.”

Premier Netball Captain and Deputy Head Girl Lucy Harvey said their wins boosted their confidence. And although they lost two games, she says they were all really proud of their efforts.

Hockey coach Jody Dallas said the highlight of the tournament was seeing the girls give everything they had, not dropping their heads in defeat, and showing true guts and determination. 

He said the tournament was always going to be “tough” for the team, with a young side, seven players having never been to a hockey tournament before, two players unavailable and their captain carrying a niggly injury.

But even with the odds against us, the girls performed amazingly,” Jody said. 
They won their first game against St Joseph's Māori Girls' College (2 -1) and won their final game against Sacred Heart Lower Hutt (2-1). 

Their losses against Sacred Heart New Plymouth and Hamilton showed a marked improvement on previous years. 

“With both New Plymouth and Hamilton playing 1st Division national level and us in 3rd Division nationally, we were very happy with the results, having in previous years been beaten by more than 10 goals by both teams.” 

He congratulated Tessa on her “amazing” leadership. “The girls worked so hard and pushed themselves all weekend. Some pushing through slight injuries and hurting bodies to play.” 

Tessa, in Year 13, said it was good to finish her fourth and final tournament on a high. She says students aspire to make the top hockey and netball teams to be able to compete in the tournament. 

Article added: Sunday 04 July 2021