Holy Spirit College may have fallen short in their Bill Turner Trophy tilt, but to the coaching staff, every girl in the squad is a winner.
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The team’s dream run came to an end in the final of the competition, falling to sporting powerhouse Westfields Sports High 3-0.
Despite the result, coach Elise Battin said the fact they even made it to the final was a significant accomplishment.
“It’s a fantastic achievement,” Battin said. “We’ve stressed that a lot with the girls, being top two out of over 400 teams is amazing.
“The girls were disappointed they didn’t win, but really happy with how they played. They played amazing and really stepped up.”
With every win, the team’s run gained a little bit more momentum within the school community, such to the point that live score updates were being provided during class and a busload of students travelled from Bellambi to Lake Macquarie to support the team in the final.
“The school was so supportive. They had an assembly before the girls left and cheered them off. When they were playing their games, teachers were relaying scores. The whole school cheered when they read over the loud speaker that we had scored in the semi-final.
“Then in the final, Holy Spirit organised a bus of spectators to go up. They were a really good cheer squad, it really lifted the girls and made the grand final a big spectacle.”
The final came at the conclusion of a five-month journey, with Holy Spirit winning six games along the way. To Battin, the team’s growth throughout the competition was significant.
”Yes they grew a lot. They did gel as a team, especially when they went away and were staying together. They all got closer and got to know each other. They were playing for each other and supporting each other.
“The girls had a good attitude the whole competition. They never gave up. In the three games before the final, they went down 1-0 within the first couple of minutes. They could have dropped their heads, but they kept on fighting to the end and the goals came at the end.”