School sport: New sport spirit at Te Puke

Te Puke High School winning hockey captains are, for First XI girls, Rebecca Black (left), Second XI girls, Kerry Fraser and First XI boys, Sean Carey. Photo / Peter White

A sporting renaissance is under way at Te Puke High School that is lifting morale and pride not just among students but in the wider community.

This winter a succession of groundbreaking results in local competitions have given Te Puke High renewed respect.

The squash team took out the co-ed schools national title, the first XV was promoted to Baywide division 2 and there are strong volleyball and netball programmes.

Other highlights include the girls first XI football team, who won the Western Bay of Plenty Senior Girls Division 2 title in scoring 110 goals and conceding just eight, and the three record-breaking hockey teams who all won their divisions. The boys' first XI took out the Triers Cup and Rob Leslie Trophy, the girls' first XI the Gemma Flynn Cup and the girls second XI the Noelene Stafford Cup.

What makes this success more remarkable is that the school does not have an all-purpose hockey turf so the students have to travel all the way to the Tauranga Hockey Centre to train. Hopes are high though that the school will be awarded funding to turn the concrete netball and tennis courts next door into a top-class all-weather surface suitable for the three codes to share.

An application has been made to the Tauranga City Council and there is strong cross-town support for the concept from community groups and Sport Bay of Plenty.

The facility would have a major impact on sport in Te Puke generally as primary school and intermediate students would also be able to enjoy the superior playing surface.

Te Puke High's sports coordinator Cody Bryant is in his first year at the school but the 24-year-old who went to Otumoetai College has already made a major impact in driving the sport programme at the school and building key relationships with the likes of Cam Black at Te Puke Intermediate.

"We were losing quite a few students to the likes of Boys' and Girls' colleges, not just Tauranga but also Rotorua," said Bryant.

"There is so much natural talent among our students so it was all about creating a high-performance academy to try to keep the talent in the area.

"I can't take the credit for that. Shea McEvoy has done a great job with setting it up and it will be trialled next year."

The PLUS ULTRA: High Performance Athlete Academy will be introduced into the junior school next year. It is an innovative programme that will integrate sport and curriculum so as to utilise the students' passion for sport to enhance their academic achievement.

McEvoy, who is Head of Ngata House, says it will benefit the three key stakeholders - the athletes, the school and the community.

"That's one of the big things for us. We want to engage the community and have a holistic approach to sport. It runs from the physical education perspective and upskilling coaches, plus we will take an integrated approach with the curriculum.

"The five core subjects of English, maths, science, social studies and physical education will be done with a sport slant on them. We will have a team of teachers working on providing that integration for those kids.

"The aim is if the kids are passionate about sport then let's engage them in sport and improve their achievement that way. We haven't pulled it from anywhere. It will be tailored for the kids who come out of our school."