Over the past two weekends, the under 13s State championships were held, with the girls playing in Taree (July 6-8) and the boys in Wagga Wagga (July 12-15). Gloucester had two representatives selected in each team; Elise Coombes, Elyssa Keen, Nic Maslen and Dean Germon.

The girl's were up first. The team played up in division one due to their positioning in the last couple of seasons but this year, they struggled against the very stiff competition from some Sydney sides and Illawarra. The girls couldn't quite get their team play together on the first day and the scorelines suffered. 

On the second day, they wrangled a draw against the Central Coast. Although their performance was improving, it wasn't enough for any further wins. 

On their final day of play, they came up against Lithgow and were able to take better command of the field. Elise Coombes in goals, had her work cut out for her all weekend. As it’s her first year playing on the turf fields, she has improved tremendously and despite the losses, she saved a lot of shots at goal too.

In the final game, Elyssa Keen played up high in striker and was rewarded with a goal. Both girls have had the opportunity for some great experiences and exposure to new skills and they have done themselves proud. 

The boy's matches the following weekend were a completely different affair with the team playing in division two.

In their first match up against the Newcastle 2 side, they scored an impressive 6-0 victory. 

Their second match up against the Southern Highlands saw an even more impressive victory,  winning 9-0. They beat both Sydney and Newcastle 3-0. In their semi-final match on day three of the competition they beat Orange 5-0.

Trying to inspire the team in their grand final performance, Dean Germon’s father volunteered to swim a lap of the local hotel pool at night if they beat Orange, consequently Andrew sucked up the near freezing conditions and took to the water.

Dean had some great play during the competition coming close to scoring a few times but it was Nic Maslen who really stepped up and took to the challenge in great form. 

Both boys did themselves proud. Next year the Manning team advance into division one. 

It has been a great experience for all of the junior hockey players and has given them a great opportunity to take back some valuable skills and lessons learned to their club.

Well done Elise, Elyssa, Nick and Dean.