Eagles Weekly Wrap - Issue:3

GAME REPORTS:

SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2023 – U14S JR NBL NORTH CONFERENCE

YORK EAGLES U14S B 18-95 YORK EAGLES U14S A

For both sets of teams, it was every player’s first taste of National League with the U14s A team coming out victorious, with a dominant performance. The U14s B team showed what they were about though with Bertie Hardisty and Maks Molka both hitting threes, in comparison to A team who shot 0-7 from 3PM. However, the A team made up for it with fantastic efficiency in transition and defence. 

Coach Steve Hardisty commented on the U14s B performance:

“The game was always going to be a challenge against the older (and much taller) A side, who were very well disciplined and drilled under the command of an excellent coach Tyler. But there were positive signs. It was great to see the boys finish with a smile and it was great to see us come out on top in the 3PM column. The season will get easier, but it was a good opportunity for the boys to witness what the required standard is. There is still a lot of work to be done, understanding some of the fundamentals of how we want to play, improving decision making and limiting turnovers. Finally, if the boys could grow a few inches by the next game, that would help." 

Player of the Game for the U14s B was Bertie Hardisty – hitting the most fluid 3 in transition, but maintained possession well throughout. 

Coach Tyler Paton-Pottage commented on the U14s A performance:

“After a season of training and limited game time in 22/23, the lads were raring to go. I’m very happy with how we conducted ourselves, playing with respect to the more youthful side and maintaining discipline in our play. Our finishing was efficient (68% FG) across all 4 quarters, but this was only achieved by decision-making, as we weren’t forcing anything drastic and found that extra player. But more importantly, our defence was excellent, allowing nothing inside as we worked as a unit in help defence and covered for each other. Still, some finer tuning of offense sets as we get used to them as the better the teams get – the more we need to be on it offensively.”

Player of the Game for the U14s A was James Wormald – finishing with 20 pts, 6 steals, and 5 rebounds – but was fantastic on transition and finished well on the weak side. Shoutout to Sam Ho as well as he finished with 20 pts, 10 steals, and 5 assists. 

SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2023 – FRIENDLY

 YORK EAGLES U14S GIRLS 23-74 YORK EAGLES U14S BOYS (MIX OF A & B SQUAD)

After the National League game, 13 of the boys stayed to pull double duty to give the girls a run – after unsuccessful attempts to get a girls' team to come to York. Not the prettiest game for the girls who struggled to contain the much quicker and bigger boys and allowed the boys to score in abundance too often, however, they did improve as the game went on as they seemed to switch mindsets. 

Coach Ghada Khattab commented on the girls' performance:

“The girls did not have their best game this week, playing a mostly passive game and letting the faster and mostly bigger opponents dominate the game. When they did execute their plays and usual string defence they shone, but these moments were few and far between. It was a lesson in game mindset for them.”

Coach Tyler Paton-Pottage commented on the boy’s performance:

“We started with a high tempo and controlled the game from the off – pushing the ball as much as possible in transition and creating good opportunities by playing solid defence and stuck to the plan of not allowing easy layups. But our decision-making, on the whole, was exceptional – did well in read v react moments and made the right plays consistently.”