April 2017, the Central Coast Academy of Sport (CCAS) athletes completed three years as Host Academy of the ClubsNSW Academy Games in style, finishing on the podium in all six (6) sports that the CCAS contested.
The CCAS had athletes competing in basketball, netball, golf, rugby sevens, surfing and tenpin bowling with each event hotly contested by all of the CCAS competitors. Other sports held on the Central Coast as a part of the ClubsNSW Academy Games were hockey, softball and triathlon.
The basketball competition saw the CCAS boys team taking home a silver medal, while the young CCAS girls team fought hard all weekend to finish fifth overall. With a young team and only four of the fourteen girls being top-age players, the CCAS girls basketball team grew in experience over the course of the weekend. The CCAS boys basketball team were helped by being on the other end of the spectrum, with most of the players being in their final eligible year and putting their knowledge and experience to great use over the the weekend. Coach Will Granger had his team playing at a high-tempo pace, with most teams struggling to keep up. Saturday night’s match against Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) eventuated as a Grand Final match due to the round-robin tournament structure with no finals. After a see-sawing battle, the boys were just squeezed out by NIAS in the final quarter. Boston Pate from the girls team and Jamal Shoaib from the boys team were both named to the ‘All Star 5’ teams, a best & fairest recognition awarded to 5 players from both the boys and girls divisions. An incredible achievement for both the athletes and the academy.
In golf, the CCAS boys were fierce competitors in all events, finishing in first position overall at the close of the weekend. The boys put on an incredible display of skills and discipline as they made their way around the courses at Shelly Beach, The Springs and Wyong Golf Course over the three-day event. In the Academy Teams Challenge, the CCAS boys team comprising of Liam Gocher, Jake Kable, Daniel Pedzikiewicz & Noah Miller took out first place over Western Region Academy of Sport and Illawarra Academy of Sport. Liam Gocher finished third in the Boys Scratch and Daniel Pedzikiewicz took out first place in the Nett competition in a countback. Fantastic results from our golfers to conclude their academy season.
Netball saw both CCAS girls teams reaping the benefits of their work with coaches Jess Morgan and Casey Judge and the alignment with the Central Coast Heart Premier League team. The level of play in the ClubsNSW Academy Games netball competition is always exceptional, so for the CCAS Division 1 girls to come away from the weekend undefeated for the first time ever is an outstanding achievement. The attitude and temperament of the girls is to be commended as they applied Coach Morgan’s tactics perfectly, outplaying all opponents. The CCAS Division 2 team was comprised of mainly younger athletes in the squad and held their own against all opposition. For most, this is their first year in the academy program and it is exciting to think what they can achieve over the coming seasons. The CCAS Division 1 MVP was Jessica Kelly, while Charlee Proctor was awarded the CCAS Division 2 MVP. Both girls received a number of votes from opposition coaches to win the MVP awards for CCAS.
The CCAS Rugby Sevens representatives performed exceptionally well given their disrupted preparations leading into the games. Both teams had struggled to train for two months leading into the games, with the boys only having one training session as a team before the tournament. By the end of the weekend the boys had only just missed out on a Grand Final berth to secure a bronze medal while the girls took home the silver medal, defeated by a red-hot Illawarra side in the Final. A fantastic achievement from both teams, helped by a very busy coach in Mitch Drinkwater and his great management staff. Heather Duffy and Shenay Ball were outstanding players for the girls while Kye Shorrock and the Peruch twins, Adam and Sean stood out for the boys.
It was a local derby in Surfing, with CCAS going head to head against the Hunter Academy of Sport (HAS) in a Tag Team exhibition event. Highlight performances from Joel Buxton, Australian U/14 champion Joel Vaughan and 2017 Australian Open of Surfing U/16 girls champion Molly Picklum saw the CCAS team victorious over HAS, getting revenge after last year’s loss. CCAS coaches Marcus Davidson and Sandra English were assisted by the Hunter’s Dan Frodsham who helped to run a great event at the idyllic Soldiers Beach on Saturday morning.
For the first time this year, Tenpin Bowling featured at the ClubsNSW Academy Games, with CCAS winning first team overall in the inaugural event. Outstanding performances over the weekend from the four bowlers; Ryan Baxter, Cameron Johnson, Damon Lloyd and Connor Withyman saw CCAS finish on top over a highly competitive field. Damon Lloyd had a great tournament particularly, featuring on the podium in all categories and finishing as the top bowler across the event with an average score of 211. Coach Dave Brooker was impressed at the hard work put in by the squad through the program and is delighted to see it pay off as they finish 2017’s program with the Academy Games title.
As always, the ClubsNSW Academy Games is a weekend to showcase some the incredible skill and talent of athletes from Regional Academies across NSW. This year was no different, with the CCAS performing brilliantly in its final year as the host academy.
We offer a huge congratulations to all of our athletes that took part over the weekend and are absolutely thrilled with all of the results and achievements that our athletes achieved. CCAS athletes represented their coaches, families and the region superbly over the weekend and it is a credit to all that CCAS finished with their best ever team results in 2017.
