By TBHS | Posted: Tuesday September 17, 2019
The final whistle has blown on what was a very successful season for Timaru Boys’ High Football, both on and off the field.
We had over 100 boys turning out for Timaru Boys’ High on a weekly basis with these boys making up seven different teams in three different grades.
The season has proven that there is excellent depth coming through from the junior grades with the TBHS 15th and 17th Grade teams performing well during the season and showing excellent improvement as the season progressed.
The two 15th Grade teams were well coached by Kai Ruemenapf, Taylor Donaldson and Logan Kerslake. Taylor Donaldson and Logan Kerslake's 15th Grade team were joint winners of the 15th Grade league competition and had some excellent games against a very strong Meadowbank side during the season.
Throughout the year, junior teams were given the opportunity to play in our traditional inter-schools; wins against St Andrew’s and Waitaki Boys’ show that TBHS Football is in a very strong position going forward.
TBHS had four teams in what was a very strong 17th Grade competition with TBHS Blue and White being extremely competitive during the season and pushing a number of the local school 1st XI teams during their games.
The TBHS Social team showed glimpses of their talent and had a number of wins and close losses while the TBHS 2nd XI won the League and managed to beat a very strong Geraldine team in the Youth Cup final at the end of the season.
A big thank you to Jamie Linton who coached the 2nd XI and was also a nominee for South Canterbury Junior Coach of the year as well as the following volunteers:
Mark Evans, Greg Paul and Ross Dawbin for coaching TBHS Blue, Hayden Wederell, Jason McCone, Kevin Kerse for coaching TBHS White and Scott Wright for coaching and officiating throughout the season.
The TBHS 1st XI was initially viewed by many to have a rebuilding season after losing a large contingent from the 2018 season; this loss of core players and leadership from the previous season's squad meant that the learning curve of being involved in Men’s Division One, Interschool and Tournament football needed to be steep in order for the boys to achieve to their potential.
Taylor Donaldson was named as Captain for the 2019 season with a very capable vice-captain of Peter Rawlins backing him up. Mr Jason Power and Todd Burtenshaw were part of a very passionate and experienced coaching team.
Despite being a new squad, the team showed incredible grit and character throughout the season with only two games during the regular season getting away in the final result.
The 1st XI won three league games in the Men’s Division One competition and had one draw, the highlight of the local season was winning the final of the South Canterbury Plate Competition, this was an excellent achievement after returning from a full week at tournament and managing to back up with a dominant performance.
The 1st XI also travelled to the Jim Wishart Tournament in Blenheim where they finished fourth out of sixteen teams. A great first up draw against Mount Aspiring ,followed by wins against Upper Hutt College and Lincoln, meant that the team finished first in their pool and qualified for the top eight of the competition. The continued on to win the quarter final over a strong St Bernard's team from Wellington in the morning and then lost the semi-final in the afternoon to Wakatipu. The final playoff for third and fourth was a disappointing loss to Christchurch Boys' in their final game, cementing fourth place.
A big thank you to both the boys, caregivers, coaches and managers who put in countless hours over the season as without your support we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the beautiful game of football.
All the best to those boys who are moving on at the end of the year, thank you for your contribution to Timaru Boys’ High School Football over the years and we wish you all the best for your future.
