Hoops

Well done SA U16 Girls at Country Cup

Ahh yes the 16's girls had two very strong teams this yr at country champs. and there has been a couple of players i know of that have moved to metro. but as one of the 16's country boys after watchin the grand of the girls at country cup, i gotta say the country national team will be very hrad to beat, and metro will have there hands full takin S Tal. and A Wil.

As for the coaches, i believe all country coaches have earned there spot. 16 girls coach is very good, but 18 girls coach is also very good. both have totally different game methods though.

So guys, just wait and see the results of the nationals and then talk about it, the 18s girls country team will do very well when jelled together, and the 18's national team,(even with what peolle consider to be favourism) will go very well aswell. The 16 girls country team i believe will make the grand, and be able to take out the gold. The 16 boys country team (the one im tryin out for) is very unpredictable. I mean we were able to get 2nd in 14's and pt mac, and then this yr losing to NSW(gold medalders) by 4. I really believe the the results will depend on how switched on we r going to be.

As for the metro teams, trainin with some of the 16 boys and knowin some of the 16 girls they are going to be equally as strong. the 18 boys i played aginist some of them last yr in district, and from look they will also have a strong team. as for the 18 girls though i can not comment because i am unsure on the players.

and to #224976 who doubled choked last yr??

Some thoughts from an interested observer. I had a daughter in the 18's GF (played against both SA teams) while I saw some of the 16's girls and coached in the 14's.

Chemistry is absolutely the responsibility of the coach, HOWEVER, you can start behind the 8-ball with the personalities you have (often imposed up on you and based on developing 2 fairly even teams instead of the best combination for that team). I was lucky enough to have a great group of kids this year and could build from there.

Secondly, you get outstanding age groups from time to time, and equally, down years. The NSW Waratahs 18's team this year got a job lot of athleticism, and when up against a less than athletic group from SA, the skill differences were exacerbated. As the kids get older, these fitness differences tend to become greater. At 14's, the fitness differences are not so great, and so the skill differences not so obvious.

While the NSW 18's age group isn't outstanding by any means (though they did finish with a silver medal at Nationals 2 years ago), they are capable and fit, whereas the SA group are perhaps a little below the usual level. At 16's a couple of outstanding players brings that SA age group up enormously while the NSW group at least struggled all week with injury, illness and internal division (which incidentally they brought into camp with them).

The other issue is where the various teams are at in their preparation. I don't know about SA, but I know the Vics are well into a comprehensive preparation when they come away. NSW have four sessions before the tournament starts ad take a very developmental approach, particularly with the 14's.

I don't think the SA 18's where as bad as some believe, but they look bad against the two 16's teams that played each other in the GF. Last time I checked the score one of the 16's teams was kicking the other so does that make the second-placed team a bad team?

We sometimes forget that these athletes, as maturely as they play at times, are still just kids and prone to all the fluctuations of teenagerdom that most 12,13,14 and 15 year olds suffer.

From a coach from another state (different age group) this group should be very strong at Nationals. Don't know the names but there is a tallish guard who hurt us big time at 16's Nationals last year as a bottom-ager (my daughter played there) and the tall girl who can play anywhere from 1 through 5 absolutely dominated the games I saw in Albury. A great start for any group.