The victorious Ashburton College 1st XI boys following their win over St Bede’s 2nd XI last Friday. Photo supplied.It may be a familiar tune, but a strong team culture delivers results.

This is what the Ashburton College 1st XI boys’ hockey team is pinpointing its success to after it completed an unbeaten title-winning run last week.

Another classy performance sealed the Canterbury Secondary School League (SSL Division 1 silverware on Friday as the team accounted for St Bede’s College 2nd XI 7-1 to record its 12th season win.

The team boasted a staggering goal differential after 13 games, scoring a total of 73 goals and conceding only 15 throughout the campaign.

Led by Jacob Gray, there were several vital contributions throughout the season, including Tim Harford who topped the goal scoring tally, and midfield linchpin Jed Cameron.

Gray said it was very special for the team.

“We’ve had a few challenging years in that competition,” he said.

“This year it was just great to go through unbeaten and see some of the younger boys really contribute as well.”

Gray said the team were able to build some camaraderie off the turf which significantly contributed to their positive results on it.

“It’s been something we’ve been lacking over the past few years.

“We’ve been really good at looking out for each other, just around school and that.”

The only time the side did not come away victorious was when they drew 2-2 with St Bede’s back in August – the same night as the AshColl senior ball when the side were missing seven frontline players.

Coach Tom Walkham echoed his skipper’s sentiments, adding that it was especially rewarding for the squad’s Year 13 pupils who missed out on tournament week this year.

“I think having the right team culture is what got them to this point.

“Everyone is included and they all look out for each other on the field and off it.

“It makes it easier to implement a game plan when everyone is on the same page.”

AshColl staked their credentials for promotion to the Canterbury premier grade in 2021 after a fearless performance against one of the hockey powerhouse schools last week.

Although the side made numerous inroads on attack, the team went down 3-1 to Timaru Boys’ High School’s 1st XI in a friendly last Wednesday, after the South Cantabrians put on a third quarter clinic.

Walkham said an elevation to the Connetics Secondary School Premier (SSP) division was worthy of consideration after the team was able to foot it with some well-resourced Christchurch schools.

“We do have seven strong boys leaving this year, but I think it’s worth a crack.

“These boys really do punch above their weight.

“We’ve won the tournament by an average of six goals a game; I think that’s pretty outstanding for an Ashburton team.”

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 1 October 2020