Positive start to season for OHS netball

 

It was a hive of activity at Whangarei Netball Centre on Saturday June 27 as the shortened Whangarei club season finally got underway following lockdown. Otamatea High School joined the Whangarei competition last season with their senior 1 team winning their collegiate grade, so there are high expectations by management and players for their four teams this year.

The first three Saturdays of non-premier netball are grading days, and all the Otamatea HS teams showed they will be competitive this season says assistant netball co-ordinator and senior 1 coach Nikola Kemp. “We hope to be competitive again this year and have a great team of committed girls and parents. Players were keen to return to netball after Covid. All teams have fallen into their training regimes now and are working on making this another great season.”

On a day of multiple shortened grading games, Otamatea senior 1 took two wins from two. “The senior 1 team is made up of Year 10 to Year 13 players, and all of them have proven to be versatile, adaptable players,” says Kemp. “We contribute both wins to some great defensive work to turn over ball, driving attack through the mid court, and solid shooting stats, which we hope we can maintain through the season.”

The senior 2 and Year 9 development teams also had two convincing wins, the intermediates having a winloss. Great results all round. Pictured in game one against Whangarei Girls HS senior 2, Otamatea GA Sara Kemp waits for the rebound as GS Renee Allen shoots for goal. Otamatea ran out 26-18 winners. They went on to beat Tikipunga HS 34-3 in game two.