ENCOURAGE SHIELD – RESULTS OF OUR JUNIOR PROGRAM
The Encourage Shield is a team match play event aimed at Juniors with a handicap of more than 7. The format is handicap match play with teams of 6 players. Both boys and girls can play. Coffs Harbour entered a team again this year, our second year.
We played our second Encourage Shield Match play competition on Sunday 12th November at Maclean, having previously progressed after defeating a composite Mid North Coast Southern Team at Kempsey in August.
This time our opponents were a composite team from the Northern Rivers District and current defending champions. Our players once again performed well and the experience of last year and the first match this year showed in the improvement of the team.
At the end of the match our Coffs Harbour team won 4 matches to 2. The match was close all day with the matches split 3-3 at the turn, however our team showed their mettle on the back nine and came home to win.
There were many encouraging signs for our players, especially the strong team spirit shown and the camaraderie displayed. There was a real vibe around the boys and the excitement generated within the team reflects the enthusiasm and commitment of all players.
Our team will now play in the state finals in Newcastle in January. This is a fantastic achievement for our Juniors and the progression from past year to this certainly shows our Junior Program is showing results.
I am also pleased that we as a club have a team qualify for the finals, whilst all other Northern areas needed to have composite teams from their district.
Our team comprised Jasper Bailey, Jesse Ferrett, Aaron Zawadzki, Theo Richardson, Lachie Coakes and Lochie Squires.
As manager of the side I was especially pleased with the demeanor of our players who all carried themselves with great sportsmanship and etiquette.
John Nichols