‘Sides Lack Group Experience’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31084, 13 June 1966, Page 6

‘Sides Lack Group Experience’

Yhe main problem to be faced by New Zealand basketball teams playing the visiting Australian team was their lack of group experience, said Miss L. J. McConchie, coach of the AU Australia women’s team, which arrived in Christchurch from Wellington yesterday.

Miss McConchie said that although the Australian team had had only a short while together since its selection last August, it thought of itself as a unit, was at a high peak of fitness, and had become accustomed to team play. New Zealand local representative teams were handicapped because they had only recently been selected. Because of this they had had very little fitness training, and had no background of team play. The Australian team has won seven of its eight games on the tour, and its one defeat to Rotorua, proved Miss McConchie’s point“The Rotorua team was very successful last year, and it has had the experience of being together for some time," Miss McConchie said. "When a team is in greater stress, this experience helps it to be a team, rather than individual girls trying to do their best for the team.” Miss McConchie felt that passing was the main difference between New Zealand and Australian play, and that the chief problem the Australians would have to contend with would be learning to defend a lobbed ball.

“We use this pass only for an emergency, but it seems the most used pass in the

teams we have played here,” she said. “Our passes are stronger, thrown from the shoulder with one hand, while New Zealand players favour lighter higher passes. Of the eight matches already played, two have been indoors, and the match with Canterbury on Saturday will be indoors. Although the Australian team had no indoor players, it had not had any trouble adjusting to indoor conditions. Miss McConchie said. The main difference was in the speed of play. The games became very fast and lack of wind provided for some excellent displays of goal shooting. The visiting team was welcomed at the airport by the Canterbury team, the Canterbury colts, and the Black Watch club, which performed a traditional Maori welcome.