Lacrosse Victoria
2015 Under 11 Lightning Carnival (Kangaroo Division)
Saturday 30 May
The Bendigo Lacrosse Association was excited to enter a team in the U11 Lightning Carnival this year. The players who made the commitment to train and play for Bendigo were:
Oliver Hannaford “Dotters” 1
Joana McLean “Macca” 2
Christian Iuliano “Rookie” 3
Henry Livingstone “Raven” 4
Morgon O’Meara “Signor Bob” 5
Patrick Hannaford “Frosty” 7
Matthew Saxon “Dragon” 8
Penny Arthur-Stott “Coin” 9
Patrick Byrne “Ashes” 10
The team was made up of children who were recruited from several schools within Bendigo: 4 from Girton Grammar, 3 from St Therese’s, one from Maiden Gully and one from Home School.
Over 6 weeks they trained at the local soccer pitch next to Girton Grammar School as it was the most central location to all players. The summer and spring junior competitions held in Bendigo allowed for eight players on the field and no goal keepers, which was a little different to the rules for the carnival. It was evident that we needed to train several players as goalkeepers, which we had no shortage of volunteers as most players wanted the position.
The club hired a minibus for the players and coaches, with the parents following separately down to Melbourne by train or car.
The initial itinerary was :
7.00am Meet everyone at Girton Gym
7.15am Depart Girton Gym
7.20am Meet Joanna at Kangaroo Flat opposite Aldi
9.00am Arrive at Calder Park Service Centre
9.30am Arrive at Altona
10.00am First Game
12.30pm Carnival finish
12.40pm Lunch
2.30pm Watch senior match at Newport
4.30pm Match finish heading home to Bendigo stopping at Calder Park Service Centre.
7.00pm Arrive at Girton for family or friends to pick up the tired souls.
Everyone was so keen that we arrived at Calder Park by 8.30am where we had a stretch, gave out team playing tops and had a few team photos. We arrived at Altona by 9.15am, hoping to watch other teams as we were given a bye for the first round.
We notified River Bradley, the Lacrosse Victoria tournament organiser, on our arrival and we were told that we could play at 9.30am as another team hadn’t arrived. We were surprised, but a quick glance at our players showed they were jumping out of their shins in excitement, so we agreed to play. They were so eager to play because it was their first ever tournament together and they wanted to prove themselves against the Melbourne teams.
The team had no shortage of goalkeepers, therefore most who wanted to goal keep were given half a game. All the players were rotated through defence, attack and midfielders during the games.
Match Reports
Our first match at 9.30am was against Malvern Red. Dragon was in goals, Rookie was the fortress in defence, and Bob was our forward, while the rest were midfielders. The team started nervously as expected but gained confidence as the match rolled on. Every time a goal was scored, players were substituted to ensure they were rotated to every position. At half time we changed our methods to ensure everyone had an opportunity to score. The game ended in our favour 10 goals to 2.
The second match saw us play against Hoppers Crossing. It was great to see a new club forming at the grassroots level. Early into the game it was obvious that the team had ridden themselves of self doubt and were ploughing through with Macca and Raven getting their first goals. At half time the Sparrowhawks were instructed to move the ball quickly and effectively around goal and then pass the ball to players running towards goal. The players eventually executed the instruction and it was a pleasure to witness. The final score was Bendigo 15 to Hoppers Crossing Nil.
The third match of the day was against Altona who had just beaten Malvern Red. At the time we did not know this game was going to decide who was to take out the Kangaroo Division of the Carnival. The team were getting a bit tired and you could see this with their focus waning. The Sparrowhawks were surprised with the skill level of several Altona players who were wearing gloves and cradling as experienced players.
The game started and the Sparrowhawks hit the back of the net first, but Altona hit back with their slick passing. The two sides were even with great defence, good catching and throwing from both sides. At halftime the scores were 3 to 2 Bendigo’s way. The final half saw the Sparrowhawks find the back of net a few more times before Altona were able to score again. Due to great team defence and fantastic passage of plays, the Sparrowhawks took the game 7 goals to 3.
As we had completed all of our rounds, our final game was against Surrey Park who played in the Crocodile Division. We were fortunate as they had a bye in their division, and their Coach, River, was happy for the team to play against us. This was much appreciated as Surrey Park would have played their fifth game in a row. The game tested our players who had to raise their lacrosse skills to a higher level, which they did. The Sparrowhawks enjoyed this game and took great confidence in their lacrosse skills.
Presentation was held, and Bendigo was awarded the Lacrosse Victoria Under 11 Lightning Carnival for 2015 (Kangaroo Division) Banner.
After photos taken of the team, we all assembled at the minibus and headed our separate destinations, with some of the children watching Bendigo’s Warhawks (senior men’s team) play against Williamstown.
Bendigo’s juniors enjoyed their time and experiences at Altona and the majority will return next year. Family and friends got a thrill in seeing their children play lacrosse on a wonderful sunny autumn day. I like to thank the Lacrosse Victoria scheduling the event and Altona Lacrosse Club for holding the carnival.
Gino Iuliano
President
Bendigo Lacrosse
Last Modified on 06/07/2015 16:14