YOUNG High School continues to dominate touch football at a state level with a sensational effort in coming third at the recent state finals in Bathurst.
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This latest achievement adds to the already long list of touch football achievements the school has celebrated over the past 10 years.
Thursday, November 5 saw the best touch teams from each region converge on the Bathurst Touch Fields to fight it out for the state titles.
The best team from each region is invited to attend the state finals held in term four each year.
The All Schools Touch carnivals provide an opportunity for touch teams across the state from both private and public schools to battle it out for bragging honours.
Young High School convincingly won five of their six round games and drew with Narara Valley from the Central Coast.
This enabled the teams to progress to the quarter finals where they beat Redbend Catholic College three to one.
Progressing into the final match they were beaten by Hunter Sports High School in a fast paced and furious game.
Coach Ben Cooper was immensely proud of the team’s efforts.
“The players worked hard as a team to consolidate the skills and set moves they had learnt at training,” he said.
He places the success of the team down to a few crucial areas.
“To win touch football at an elite level, you need a team that is fast, controls the ruck, communicates well and knows when to execute set plays,” he said.
“This team ticked all the boxes and they should be stoked with their achievements.”
Co-captains Will Hills and Jacob Lucas led the team very well demonstrating exceptional work ethic on the ground and leadership skills.
Hills was ecstatic with the team’s performance and was quick to praise the entire squad.
“I’m proud of the boys because we played as a team and didn’t drop our heads when we were down,” Hills said.
“I kept telling the boys to never give up.”
He also thanked the parents who drove the players to training and supported their sporting endeavours.
Jacob Lucas, who demonstrated exceptional ball skills in the link position, attributed the team’s success to hard work and dedication.
“Our secret to success was Mr Cooper who gave up every lunchtime to coach us and even ran after-school training,” Lucas said.
“He put in a lot of time and effort and hopefully we have made him happy by coming third in the state.”
The team’s vice captain, Patrick Mahony, echoed Jacob’s sentiments.
“The commitment and dedication of the team has led us to become the third best touch team at this level in the state,” he said.
“I want to thank Coops and Harry Dunn for giving up their time to train us all. Thanks also to Mrs Armstrong for being a great manager.”
Touch football continues to expand in Young and it certainly has a bright future in town.
“I was talking to the NSW Touch Development Officer at the state touch finals and he indicated that Young may be able to host an All Schools regional qualifier tournament next year,” Cooper said.
“He praised Young’s success at school touch carnivals over the years and was impressed with the growth of Young Touch Association.”
Young Touch Association will now be turning their attention to selecting teams for Junior State Cup in 2016.
