It was big week for three Christchurch teams at the New Zealand Secondary Schools competition in Nelson last week.

We caught up with St Margaret's captain Lina Pale to ask her about her and her team's experience.

CNC: How did you prepare in the first week of the school holidays?

LP: To prepare for this tournament, we started with a mini tournament held at Christchurch Girls High which was a good last hit out before the holidays. The four Christchurch teams, Ashburton College, Christchurch Girls High, Villa Maria and St Margarets, played each other and allowed the teams to get game time before heading away. Since SMC had a 3 week holiday the first week we were given a fitness program that we completed individually before we came together as a team for most of the second week. During the second week we had a training camp at school, which was filled with trainings, games against Ashburton and Villa and a lovely yoyo test. This camp helped prepare us for a tough week at nationals.

CNC: What was your routine prior to each game?

LP: Our routine prior to each game was very similar and consistent throughout the season. We would meet before every game, and would analyse the opposition but would mainly focus on us and what we need to do to execute our game plan. We stuck to the same warm up throughout the year and would try to do a fun team booster game before we went on court. 

CNC: How did you recover between games? 

LP: After every game we would walk and stretch at the courts before we headed back to our hotel where we would put our legs in the pool for 10 minutes. We did this after every game to make sure our bodies could recover between the short turn around, and at the end of the day we would try and go to the beach to put our legs in or even swim. 

CNC: You were expecting some tough games over the course of the Tournament, what ended up being the hardest contest you faced over the 4 days?

LP: Yes, I was expecting all games to be tough as we are facing the top 16 schools in NZ. Our hardest game at this tournament would have had to be against CGHS. We have faced this team many times over the year in our Supernet competition and in Premier netball. I was especially proud of the team during this game as we came out strong and managed to lead through most of the game. Unfortunately we didn't take the win, and lost by 1 goal. Though we didn’t win we played one of our best games of the tournament against them.

CNC: What was the highlight of competing at NZSS?

LP: One of the highlights for the team is playing against the best players in our age groups and really testing ourselves as players and as a team against players who are playing in the Beko and even ANZ competitions. It’s awesome to watch all of the talent from around NZ and to be able to participate in such a fantastic tournament. 

CNC: What will you take away from your experience at NZSS?

LP: There are a number of things that I will take away from this experience. One of these would be the importance of establishing a good team culture. The NZ Secondary Schools tournament is a long and tiring week so I think it’s important for players to gel well both on and off the court. I have really enjoyed our team culture this year as everyone has contributed and worked hard together.

CNC: Describe your experience in three words?

LP: PRIDE, EPIC AND THOMAS

Thanks Lina and congratulations!

Article added: Tuesday 15 October 2019