junior

bowlerMay 2014

REBECCA RIXON

GOLD COAST TWEED JUNIOR

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

RHINO'S CHARGEJake Rynne’s rise to QLD selection

STATE JUNIORSROUND UP

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ContentsQld Kings and Queens3

Queensland Junior State squad selections

Junior development squad widens reach10

Young players further afield get the chance to learn.

Greg Bostock11

Hear from the coach of the development squad.

The Dalby Dynamo5

Jake Rynne charging through the bowling ranks

Ruthless Rixon4

The rise of Rebecca Rixon: Super Challenge Bronze winner.

State Junior championships6

The best young bowlers Queensland has to offer go head to head

If you have any stories you’d like featured in Junior Bowler, please contactBowls Queensland on 07 3355 9988 or email news@bowls-queensland.org

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Queensland’s junior bowlers were out to impress at the State Junior Championships as the new junior state squad was announced following the singles final on Thursday.

“We have certain qualities we look for in players,” Queensland state coach and selector Bill Cornehls said.

“Obviously their bowling ability and consistency is the major factor, but it’s definitely not the only consideration.”

“To have any chance at making the squad you have to be a team player, know how to conduct yourself on and off the green, and be willing to commit to the programme.”

Of the 16 selected, only 10 will actually make the team to play New South Wales in June and the Australian Junior Championships in September.

A change in the ranks will be enforced due to many players turning 18.

“We’ll have a completely new-look boys team for the NSW test,” Cornehls said.

“Of the five-man team that competed at last year’s junior nationals, four will be over 18 when we play NSW.”

“Two of last year’s girls team will graduate from juniors, as will four boys, before the first test.”

Qld Kings and Queens

Junior development squad widens reach

Greg Bostock

The Dalby Dynamo

Ruthless Rixon

State Junior championships

Back Row (L-R): Sophie Young (Capalaba), Taleah Putney (Gayndah), Jesse Turnbull (Hamilton), Nic Gosley (Beenleigh), Brittanny Wiley (Binjour), Nathan Wilson (Ferny Grove), Hayden Vogler (West T’ba) and Jacob Nelson (Cleveland). Front Row: Tiffany Murray (Miriam Vale), Rebecca Rixon (Kawana), Jake Rynne (North Dalby), April Wilson (Helensvale), Michaela Bailey-Nelson (Helensvale), Mitchell Mears (Algester) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (Kawana). Not pictured: Dale McWhinney-Shillington (Burleigh Heads).

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“A whole lot of fun.”

Rebecca Rixon says of her Bronze Super Challenge victory.

“I had to draw the head consistently, it’s a lot of concentration.”

The 13 year old Kawana starlet played second for skip Marion Hewitt, with Sandy Clough third and Claire McGrath as lead.

“They’re very supportive, and so are Shoey and Julie Keegan.”

“She’s lovely, I have some great influences at Kawana.”

Rixon was also on the plane for the Across the Ditch series last December.

“That was a lot of fun too, meeting

new people, playing for Queensland.”

Although returning empty handed, she remained positive.

“We played our hearts out, we are a very good team.”

“Bill Cornehls is a very experienced coach, I’ve enjoyed working with him.”

Rixon works very hard to achieve her goals and is heartened to see it paying off.

“I don’t have much time for any other interests. I don’t feel I’m missing out by playing bowls all the time, the work is paying off.”

“Much of the time I’d rather be playing bowls anyway!”

With such determination for someone so young, glory should beckon.

“I think she’ll represent Queensland in future years, she’s doing it already for the juniors,” says Kawana coach Ian Schuback.

“She never misses training, arrives carrying school bags, laptops and bowls bags.”

“To see the smile on her face was thrilling. Being so young she’s almost like a team mascot,” beams Shoey, recalling Rebecca’s impression on the team.

RUTHLESS

RixonRebecca Rixon celebratingSuper Challenge success

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When top junior bowlers turn 18 and move on, there is always the question of who will be the future stars to replace them.

Queenlsand has an abundance of young players. One such bowler is 10 year old Jake Rynne.

“Three and a half hours travel to get here today, and it’s well worth it,” smiles Rhino, who plays for North Dalby.

“We’re down here for the whole week, I want to do well in the singles, I’d love a section win. It’ll be tough.”

There’s plenty of experience at the State Juniors for Rhino to learn from.“Mitchell (Mears), he helps me out, watching my game.”

But supercoach, Ian Schuback, has high hopes for young Jake.

“He could be a World champion.”

HaydenVogler skipped Rynne in the fours where he played lead.

“Lead is good don’t worry about to much, I don’t measure or score it’s almost pressure-less.”

Family influence is very noticeable with Rynne, the dedication of his mother shows through how Jake approaches the greens.

But it’s James “Jimmy” Rynne who is to blame for all this.

“My grandpa got me into it. After kindergarten he used to take us down to the bowls club and I had a roll up.”

“I can’t do it without him, he takes me to training and he’s a big part of it.”

Even Queensland state coach Bill Cornehls had praise for Rynne’s efforts.

“He’s been playing well and has been pretty consistent throughout the championships so far.”

So it proved, with a medal haul of gold from the fours and triples, topped off with selection for the Queensland Junior State Squad.

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“He could be aWorld Champion”

Ian Schuback

Jake Rynne

Jimmy Rynne with grandson, Jake

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Boys PairsThey don’t come much tighter than the U18 pairs final, with Cohen Litfin and Joel Andersen snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on the last end of the match.

Trailing Stephen Savage and skip Braidan Leese 16-18 heading into the final end, the duo pulled off a vital three-shot win to wrap up the title, 19-18.

“It’s our third really close game in a row.”

It’s Andersen’s second state pairs title, with the 16-year-old winning the U15s gold alongside twin brother Josh in 2011.

Open FoursAndersen was hoping his pairs win might lead to glory in the fours.

Andersen was part of a Leese-lead side including Mitchell Styles and Stephen Savage, but were hammered in the final.

The Hayden Vogler-skipped outfit of Jake Rynne, Thomas Young and Mitchell Mears demolished Leese’s boys in a completely one-sided affair, 24-6.

So dominant was Vogler’s side, that by the ninth end Leese was trailing 17-zip and by the 11th he was down 23-1.

“I don’t think I’ve ever lost like that before, especially not in a final,” said a disappointed Leese after the match.

Queensland’s top young bowlers converged on the Gold Coast in April to battle it out for the 2014 Junior State titles at Broadbeach Bowls Club. The talented youngsters went head-to-head in a new-look event, which featured open triples and fours for the first time, as well as singles and pairs for under-18 and under-15 bowlers.

The line-up was a who’s-who of past and present champions, but the big stars didn’t have it all their own way, with some relatively unknown youngsters claiming individual and team titles.

SUNSHINESTATE'sSENSATIONALJUNIORS

Joel Andersen and Cohen Litfin

Hayden Vogler, Mitchell Mears, Thomas Young and Jake Rynne

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It was sweet revenge for Vogler’s boys, who went down to Leese in the same fixture last year.

“I guess it is a bit of revenge,” said Vogler, who was full of praise for his teammates, crediting them with the win.

Open triplesAnd the medals kept on coming for Vogler and 10-year-old Rynne, as duo teamed up with Jindalee’s Bryce Litfin for the triples crown.

The trio defeated Mitchell Weier, Aymee Bellert and Tiffany Murray in the

final, surviving a late revival from Murray’s side to clinch the title, 18-15.

“The boys were great, especially Jake, he carried us for a lot of the game,” Vogler said.

Despite playing five consecutive games, in wind, rain and shine, the North Dalby lead was fired up for his second final of the championships, with his radar perfectly tuned for the title clash.

To their credit, Murray’s side never gave up, even at 13-1 down after six ends. But as the sun set and the green slowed, they started to string some scores together.

In fact, they kept their opponents scoreless for the last five ends, clocking up 3-2-1-1-2. But they left their run a little too late and Vogler’s boys took the title, 18-15.

U15 Combined PairsThe under-15 pairs crown went to little-known juniors, Gold Coast-Tweed’s Jake Nicholson (Paradise Point) and Charles Clarke (Tweed Heads).

The duo came through the U15s field undefeated and into the final, where they impressed against Sean Gillis (Algester) and Zac Adams (Swifts), 21-13.Jake, 14, is a Year 10 student at Aquinas College, Ashmore.

He met pairs partner Charles through the Gold Coast District Junior Development Squad, which holds monthly practise sessions.

“It feels pretty good to win, it was a tough final, very windy, but our consistency made the difference,” Jake said.

U15 Boys SinglesIn one of the most impressive games of the championships, Cleveland pocket-rocket Kane Nelson overcame Jake ‘Rhino’ Rynne to claim the Boys U15s Singles title.

It was a huge achievement for nine-year-old Nelson, whose brother Jacob was the 2013 champion.

Hayden Vogler, JakeRynne & Bryce Litfin

Jake Nicholson and Charles Clarke

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Kane peppered the jack all match for a 21-13 win, but the score belied a close game.

Rynne played some equally impressive bowls, deserving of his pairs and fours gold earlier in the week.

Queensland coach Bill Cornehls and Commonwealth Games rep Brett Wilkie both blown away by the skills on display.

U18 Girls SinglesKawana girl Connie-Leigh Rixon ran away with the Girls U18 Singles title, despite a late fight back from Australian junior rep April Wilson (Helensvale).

Rixon raced out to an 11-1 lead, but the Helensvale ace wasn’t disheartened, and fought back.

But she left herself too much to do and Rixon ran out was a comfortable winner, 21-11.

The Kawana champ was full of praise for her opponent, with whom she reached the final of the pairs at this year’s championships.

“April is an amazing player and it was a tough match.”

Both Rixon and Wilson were also named in the Queensland’s junior state squad.

U15 Girls SinglesThe U15 girls final was a completely one-sided affair, as Tweed Heads sensation Jess Srisamruayba was on fire against a battling Brittany Wiley.

Srisamruayba put Capalaba’s Sophie Young to the sword in the semifinal, 21-7, before serving up a similar dose to Wiley in the final, 21-6.

“I found the green a bit difficult, so I didn’t play as well as I would have liked,” she said after the match.

You have to wonder what she’d be capable of if she hadn’t ‘struggled’ with the conditions!

Boys and Girls singles champions: Braidan Leese (U18), Kane Nelson (U15), Jess Srisamruayba (U15) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (U18)

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Bye bye BuddahCoolangatta’s Braidan Leese rescued his farewell Junior Championships campaign with a last ditch singles win, after a series of near misses threatened to send him home empty-handed.

Leese, who turned 18 this month, was determined to end his junior career with a bang and had originally hoped to collect all four titles at this year’s championships.

However, a one-shot loss in the pairs final, followed by an 18-shot drubbing in the fours final, put an end to his dreams of a clean sweep.

The wheels seemed to really come off his campaign in the triples, with Leese’s boys dumped out in Round 1.

But the Australian junior rep came good in the singles, as he stormed through sectionals and into the quarter-final.

Once there he burned Jacob Nelson 21-16 to set up a semifinal showdown with 2013 singles champ Brendan Wilson.

With the scores locked up at 13-apiece, Leese launched a final assault, clocking up four straight ends, 2-1-2-3, to clinch the match, 21-13.

It was a similar story in the final, where Hamilton’s Jesse Turnbull and Leese were evenly matched for much of the game...or at least until Leese noticed Turnbull was struggling with long ends.

After that he turned the screws and while Turnbull fought admirably, he couldn’t keep up, dropping the match 21-17.

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The Junior Development Squad net is being cast wider than ever before.

After a very successful 12 months, Greg Bostock, coach of the BCIB – GCT Junior Development squad, announced young players from outside the GCT region will be able to take up the opportunity to improve their game.

“I’m pretty passionate about promoting junior bowls, so I figured if I widened the area it would give other juniors an opportunity to be a part of the squad,” said Bostock.

“We’ve had such an overwhelming response as we go around. And, the parents of other juniors were keen for them to be part of the squad as well.”

The squad of 12 will consist of boys and girls aged 10 to 16 years of age.

“It does give more bowlers the chance to benefit and be part of the sport. We’re not just looking for the best players, we will also be looking at potential,” added Bostock.

Brett Wilkie, Queensland National Training Centre Coach, said, “To hear they have decided to expand outside of the Gold Coast area is great news for other junior bowlers who will now have access to some advanced coaching by Greg.”

“I believe this squad to be an important link in the pathway for players to progress their way up to representing Queensland and or Australia in the future.”

Kelvin Kerkow, in his role as Australian selector, shows great interest in the squad.

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“I was a 12 when I took up the game and as an Australian selector now I like to see the younger kids coming through. The difference in coaching now from when I started, it’s way in front.”

“I’m happy to be part of it. It’s an opportunity for the kids to get some good skills training, psychology and education on the game and just get better and better.”

Kerkow tries to get along to as many sessions as his schedule allows.

“Both Brett and Kelvin have spoken to the squad,” said Bostock.

“They told them that 2018 isn’t that far away, and there is potential for one of you to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.”

Juniors in the program will be coached once a month at different clubs on the Gold Coast on a special drill and skills program.

Expressions of interest to be considered for the next BCIB Junior Development Squad can be sent to Greg Bostock by email on bossind@bigpond.com or call him for a chat.

The Development Squad is also thankful for the generous support of BCIB.

Keeping his eyes peeled at the State Junior Champs was GCT Junior Development squad coach, Greg Bostock.

“The amount of talented kids out on the greens is absolutely phenomenal, a lot of talent here at Broadbeach.”

An enthusiastic promoter of youth bowls, Bostock was very pleased to see such a hot bed of bright talent.

When asked if he was watching anyone in particular, he kept his cards close to his chest.

“Not really no,” he replied with a smirk.

The support amongst the players to each other from all players was noted, though.

“It comes back from the parents, they give them good support and flows on to the kids.”

“I’m honoured for being chosen as a selector and I’ve seen some amazing players today.”

“These greens are lovely. If you’ve got great greens, it gives kids the confidence to go out and play those shots.”

Bostock'sBEADY EYE

“It’s an opportunity to get some good skills training”

Kelvin Kerkow