By Phil Taylor

Copyright times

Howick Pakuranga Hockey juniors are the toast of the club after both their top boys’ and girls’ teams were victorious in their respective Auckland championships.

The Howick Pakuranga Hockey Club’s boys’ youth side Team Tarrant went undefeated through their season, while the girls’ Team Newman was beaten only once.

Team Tarrant contested the Auckland premier youth grade with five other club sides. In their final they won 5-1 over Sommerville.

They scored 54 goals and conceded just eight and had the leading top goal-scorers in their league, Cameron Bennett (13) and Ben Ellis (11).

Team Newman also competed in the Auckland premier youth grade against five opponents and after the round-robins they finished top of their league. In their final they beat Sommerville 3-2.

The girls’ side also overcame obstacles during their season as they were hampered by many injuries and only had one game when all 16 players were available.

They scored 42 goals and conceded only six. Team Newman had five players in their league’s top 10 goal scorers, with Amelia Chapman second.

“I feel exceptionally proud of the youth players – the camaraderie, respect, team spirit, positivity, eagerness to learn and most of all having fun,” says Carmen Tough, the HPHC youth hockey captain.

“This is the first time in many years that Howick Pakuranga Hockey Club boys’ and girls’ teams have win both the shield for the highest score throughout the season, as well as the trophy for the winner of the finals.

“This year we had an exceptionally strong and talented youth group, and it shows in the results.

“Dedication in these two top teams has been phenomenal. The girls trained on Monday evenings for 90 minutes, and the boys on Friday evenings from 5-8pm.

“Giving up your Friday evenings to club hockey as a teenager is huge. Most of these players also play for their school First XIs and support a senior club team as a substitute.

“Within our championship grade we had a few new-to-hockey players and with excellent and dedicated coaches, as well as dedicated players, they developed into well-rounded hockey players, ready to take on another season,” says Tough.

“Hearing the comments of coaches, parents and players after a game or a good hard training really amplifies the Howick Pakuranga Howick Club player spirit.

“Watching the teams supporting one another at games, and also supporting the senior teams, shows how the team spirit has developed.

“Most of the youth players also volunteer as umpires or coaches for the junior grades, thus giving back to the hockey community.

“The youth also stood out at the HPHC annual Club Weekend, being the biggest contributors to the raffle prizes and managing the selling of raffle tickets,” says Tough.

“Each team was given an hour to sell tickets, and they sold out before Saturday was done. It’s awesome to see how teenagers banded together and made selling tickets a fun event.

“We need to remember without the youth coaches and team managers, all of whom are volunteers, the HPHC youth grade would not exist.”

Team Newman coach Zoe Teikamata says she’s “very grateful” to have been able to coach her side this season.

“It reminded me of when I was their age playing for this very same team nine years ago.

“I’m so proud of every one of them and I can see so much potential, in their hockey journeys ahead.

“I can’t wait to see them as my own teammates in a few years,” says Teikamata.

Luke Holms, the Team Tarrant coach, says it was “awesome to see such a group with such talent and passion for hockey”.

“At every training, the team would be enthused and have fun, work hard and was eager to learn.

“Thank you to the parents for keeping their bellies full and getting to all the trainings.

“A special thanks to our team manager, Sean Madden, for all the work he has done for the team behind the scenes to allow me to focus on hockey while he handles everything.

“I said to the boys at the end of the season that this might be one of the most dominant youth teams of all time,” Holms says.

“Despite giving me and all the parents a scare being down 1-0 in the final versus Sommerville, we ended up controlling the game with a strong performance to win in the end.

“Thank you to the boys for all their commitment and effort this season. It has been a pleasure coaching them and I look forward to watching them develop and improve on and off the field.”

Howick Pakuranga Team Newman girls’ youth premier team: Addison McEwan (captain), Alyssa Reid, Amelia Chapman, Caitlyn King, Caylee Linck, Charlie Harris, Emersyn Chapman, Jessica Tough, Kaylin Jacobsohn, Layla Addington, Layna Cooper, Linda Meyburgh, Nina Schwenke, Riya Prasad, Ruby Keenan, Valentina Hania. Coach: Zoe Teikamata. Manager: Carmen Tough.

Team player of the year: Addison McEwan. Most valuable player: Nina Schwenke. Most promising player: Nina Schwenke.

Howick Pakuranga Team Tarrant boys’ youth premier team: Aaronjeet Madra, Ben Ellis, Benji Holloway, Cameron Bennett, Cody Muggeridge, Eric Jiang, Gurdit Singh, Hugo Heyworth, Jesse Elliott, Jonathan Tough, Joss Bulmer, Lande Ludidi, Luke Pulley, Nathan Southgate, Nathan Hutton, Sander Reikop, Troy Muggeridge (captain), Xavier Madden. Coach: Luke Holmes. Manager: Sean Madden.

Team player of the year: Ben Ellis. Most valuable player: Troy Muggeridge. Most promising player: Gurdit Singh.

Howick Pakuranga Hockey Club trophies: President’s Cup: Kaylin Jacobsohn, for the youth player who contributes their time and energy to HPHC and the wider hockey community, above and beyond regular team commitments. Youth top team trophy: Team Tarrant.