QUEENSLAND & NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR EXCHANGE PROGRAM

April Lamb from the Killarney Club was selected to represent Queensland in the Junior Exchange Program for 2010.

Read April's account of her wonderful stay in New Zealand, the friends she made and the polocrosse she played!
Click here to read

QUEENSLAND JUNIOR COACHING CLINIC

Ninety young and enthusiastic polocrosse players from all corners of Queensland decended on the Wandoan Show Grounds on
Thursday 2nd July so they wouldn't be late for the 8.00am start the next day of their Junior Coaching Clinic.

This clinic was organised to coincide with the Queensland Zone Polocrosse Championships to be held during the weekend of 4th & 5th July.

The Queensland Junior Development Officer, Jodie Hall, planned a wonderful program full of unique learning opportunities and
especially designed to suit all levels of ability of the junior player.

The morning program included hourly group rotation sessions with elite Queensland players who demonstrated skills and techniques
and then coached the junior players, mounted on their own horses, to help refine these skills . Presentations included -
Roles of a No. 1 - with Paul McGrath, Sally McGrath and Mick Dillon
Roles of a No. 2 - with Cameron Shepherd, Andrew Phillips and Mark O'Leary
Roles of a No. 3 - with Stephanie Thorsby, Tory Latham and Trent Collins

After a well deserved lunch break the players were able to learn "how to get their head right for a game" in a session on
Sports Psychology presented by Jodie Hall.

So they didn't get sick and tired of sitting for too long, the next session required the juniors to pull on their running shoes.
An Introduction to fitness testing was presented by Noel Challis. Noel is the QPA Player Development Officer and he has a
Graduate Diploma in Elite Sports Coaching from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Canberra.
This rotational session to test fitness levels saw the junior players "running, jumping and stretching".
So just how fit were they?
The results of the Beep Test run, Flexibility Test measuring box and the Jump Test told the story.
Some were not as fit or flexible as they thought!

The final session for the day was a Horsemanship Demonstration by Murray Sturgess. He gave a demonstration of selected
points from the DVD on Horsemanship for Polocrosse.

This Coaching Clinic was a wonderful opportunity for junior players to develop their polocrosse and horsemanship skills, check on their
level of personal fitness, learn skills from experienced coaches and presenters and get to know junior players from all over the state.

Keen young players learning the art of the line - up with Libby Wells!	Member of the Australian Team, Cameron Shepherd, passes on his skills
Andrew Philips coaches juniors on the No. 2 position	The No. 3's role
Juniors listen and learn	Putting it all into practice

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AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR POLOCROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS - Albury 2009

Queensland Junior U12 team are the Australian Champions!


Cold wet weather (including a hail storm) for the duration of their stay in the border town will be something to talk about in
years to come aside from the fact that the under 12’s came home winners.

The Queensland U12 Junior team included Anthony O'Leary (Cunningham), John Shepley (Warwick), James Hoey (Clifton),
Declan Wheeler (Toowoomba), Carly Cooper (Cunningham), Lachlan Finlay (Tansey) and Captain Robbie Taylor (Roma).

In a round robin competition Queensland defeated Victoria 8-1, NSW (1) 12-7, South Australia (11-2) and NSW (2) 17-1.
Queensland defeated NSW (1) in the Final 13-5. This means the Queensland Junior U12 team are the Australian Champions!

Queensland did well in the award stakes with Robbie Taylor Best No.1, Declan Wheeler Best No.2 and Lachlan Finlay Best No.3.  


The Junior Mixed Competition had an international flavour with New Zealand fielding a team.

Sarah Gilbert (Cunningham) and Jess Lawrence (Warwick), were joined by cousins Ann and Christie Moloney (Longreach)
to make up the girls section. Nick Lindley (Calliope), Chris Ilett (Calliope), Matt Taylor (Bauhinia) and Grant Carol (Tansey) completed the team.

In the round games Queensland defeated Victoria 15-8, New Zealand 18-4, Western Australia 21-7, but were beaten 16-7 by NSW (1).
NSW (1) defeated Queensland 17-11 in the Final.

Sarah Gilbert won Best No.1 and Chris Ilett Best No.2.

Notes from Janelle Cleary.
  

Australian U12 Junior Champions - Queensland (L - R) Anthony O'Leary, James Hoey, John Shepley, Declan Wheeler, Carly Cooper, Lachlan Finlay, Robbie Taylor (Captain)	The U12 Champions on their horses John, Anthony, Robbie, Declan, Carly, Lachlan, James.
Queensland Junior Team (L - R) Nick Finlay, Chris Ilett, Matt Taylor, Grant Carol, Amy Moloney, Christie Moloney, Sarah Gilbert, Jess Lawrence.	It was cold and wet, but Daniel Cooper still flew the flag for Queensland!