Football
Our Football programs throughout Girls and Boys programs, continue to grow in strength and quality this year. Our partnership with Unicol Football Club has been hugely beneficial for Hillcrest High Football and in turn provides a logical pathway for our players into Club Football. We are fortunate to have quality coaching throughout our Hillcrest Teams this season and the results are showing.
On the pitch our Junior Girls and Boys teams are having outstanding seasons, with both in contention for Cup and League. Our Senior Girls team is in the bottom four though this is a team of experience and youth who are developing nicely towards Tournament Week in Taupo at the end of this month. The Boys 1st XI are flying high this season having earned a Top four place in the league and the chance to continue developing against the best schools in the Waikato. The Boys head away to their tournament in Auckland at the end of the month, in great form.
Netball
Our Cozy Sponsored Senior Netball team are benefiting from the weekly challenge of playing against Senior Club Teams on Saturday, while the Secondary School Monday league is now underway giving our girls the opportunity to match themselves against their peers before UNISS Tournament in Auckland at the end of the month.
Netball continues to be a strong Teir One Sports at Hillcrest with some outstanding staff heading up the Head of Coaching and Skills coaching roles. Hillcrest High values and acknowledges the many student coaches who offer their services coaching Netball teams. This provides a wonderful opportunity for our young students to take leadership roles and navigate the challenges and rewards of being a coach.
Lacrosse
We are very proud of our Lacrosse Girls who are having a season of rebuilding with lots of keen younger players, benefiting from the experienced senior girls. Despite results not going their way during the season, the Senior Girls clinched an exciting Win v Morrinsville to give them a well-earned boost of confidence. Credit to our coaches for creating a fun environment, while focusing on developing skills and continual team improvement.
Lacrosse has traditionally provided some amazing career opportunities for our Senior leavers with Anja Kuys a great example of the incredible opportunities within the sport. Anja recently represented NZ at the World Champs in Towson, Maryland, while she also attends the University of Montevallo in Alabama all through Lacrosse opportunities. Our very own Bridget Hill recently represented NZ u18 in the Australian Championships in Adelaide, another example of the many real and cool opportunities within Lacrosse. We look forward to continued growth and support for our Lacrosse programs at Hillcrest High.
Rugby
The Rugby season has now concluded for our two Boys rugby teams. Our Seniors and U15 teams have had a challenging season and have faced some tough learning curves. A huge thanks to our Coaches, Managers and TIC Tai Te Rito who contribute so much time and passion in our Rugby program at Hillcrest. Well done to all our players for their commitment throughout the season and all the best to our year 13 senior players who will now be looking to progress their rugby within club team’s next season. Our traditional NZ game has it’s challenges at Secondary School level and at Hillcrest we continue to be guided by Waikato and NZRU principles to maintain and grow Rugby as a sport of opportunity for Girls and Boys at Secondary School.
Basketball
TIC of Basketball Gordon Sim has overseen great progress with Basketball at Hillcrest over the winter. With Head of Coaching Hemi Marshall leading the skill development across all of our teams at Hillcrest, Basketball is growing so fast and as a sport is demanding the respect of a Teir One code in the near future at Hillcrest High. While Head Coaching the senior Boys + Senior Girls, Hemi has gone over and above his role in this his first year of coaching at Hillcrest High School. Like many of our Sport we rely heavily on our Student, Parent and Community support for coaches and managers. We have some exceptional people doing some great work in Basketball and we acknowledge + appreciate you all.
Our senior Boys are entered into the Regional Tournament week in Rotorua at the end of this month, which will be no doubt a wonderful opportunity for them to continue their exceptional progress this season.
Hockey
Our Boys 1st XI were the unsung heroes of our Exchange in helping us regain the Trophy from Rosehill. In the penultimate fixture of the day, news arrived at the JL Gym that the boys had won their hockey match 5/0, which provided the platform and opportunity for our Basketball Boys to win their game and the Trophy.
Our Girls Hockey team have a great mix of youth and experience and are improving with each game this season. Though they lost in the Rosehill exchange, they took a lot away from the game and it was a valuable experience in building confidence and teamwork.