Kuranui teams on the ball

POSSESSION BATTLE: Kuranui girls 1st XI player Halina Bucknor (right) takes on the Solway College defence. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV

KURANUI College is rapidly developing a reputation for being leaders in Wairarapa secondary school football after a phenomenal 2015 season with three of their teams finishing champions of their respective divisions.

The Kuranui girls 1st XI football side ended their Wairarapa division one season unbeaten, having played against seven local teams throughout two rounds of the competition.

Meanwhile, the Kuranui boys 1st Xl sat at the top of the college A-grade division table with only one loss before beating Chanel College in the decider and the Kuranui boys 2nd XI found form after a slow start to their season to be crowned champions of the college B grade competition, having defeated Makoura College in the final.

Kuranui girls coach Trish Morison is proud of the team's achievement. "They've had an outstanding season and were unbeaten throughout, in some games their goal difference even made double figures."

Morison said the team, who had a wide range of football experience including several new to the sport, punched well above their weight largely due to the positive support the players gave each other.

"It didn't matter if a player mucked up, so no one felt scared about trying something new. When a player did something better than they expected it was a 'woop woop' moment for all.

"For most of the players, they just had a little thing to try and do each game. They listened and, on the field, I could see them thinking about it, then they did it and it worked ... boom ... new skill, and the team got stronger."

Kuranui's 1st XI boys team coach Wayne Brasell felt his team lifted their game in the second half of the season.

"We were fortunate to retain the core of the winning team from 2014, so we had that stability. This season, the boys were particularly strong in the first half of the season. However, more recently a few key players have been unavailable which meant the boys had to lift their game further."

Kuranui 2nd XI boys coach Kees Muller also acts as a referee at home games and recognises the value of having a good team manager.

"One of the parents stepped up as manager on Saturdays. This was helpful and contributed to the success of the team.

"The first couple of games were used to find the right positions for the players and experiment with tactics that would fit the spirit of the team. We then found our balance and started to win games. The team clicked, we had great fun during practice and games, which led us to being a winning team."

Brasell sees the college's success as a combination of several things.

"All the players love their football," he said. "We are lucky to have enthusiastic coaches who consider which approach is the right one to develop their players and to keep them enjoying their football.

"Kuranui parents have helped to support football whether through the football committee or turning up each weekend to support teams or referee games.

"There has also been an increased focus by the college on football to ensure it's correctly supported and this, in turn, has led to greater visibility of the game at college.

"We also have a 3rd XI which has great player numbers, huge parental support and those guys are having tremendous fun each week.

"For a small college, that's a great sign. And all the teams play with the right spirit and attitude which is important."