{"id":54299,"date":"2024-08-05T10:18:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T08:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=54299"},"modified":"2024-08-05T10:18:12","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T08:18:12","slug":"paarl-gim-triumphs-over-rivals-paarl-boys-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=54299","title":{"rendered":"Paarl Gim triumphs over rivals Paarl Boys’ High"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paarl
Paarl Gim skipper, LD Nel on the charge for his side against Boys High during the 2024 interschools. Photo: Lookonimages<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2024 hockey season is done and dusted for most schools, and all too quickly for some which shone, including Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Gim ended their campaign with a commanding 2-0 win over their rivals, Paarl Boys’ High<\/strong> in their annual interschools clash in Paarl.<\/p>\n

First half goals, scored by skipper LD Nel<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and Juan Swanepoel<\/strong>, secured a meaningful victory for coach Jacques Grobler<\/strong>‘s side, which brought the curtain down on a season filled with outstanding highlights.<\/p>\n

“I’m very happy that the boys could end the season like this,” Grobler told SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a><\/strong> after the match in Paarl.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a very successful season for us. We’ve achieved most of the goals that we set.<\/p>\n

Turning to the big Paarl derby, he added: “In an interschools match, you’re never going to get a free-flowing game because there’s a lot at stake. I think we did well to score a very good goal from LD. We had some nice PC variations and one of them worked for us.”<\/p>\n

Gim’s campaign in 2024 was characterised by grit, consistently strong performances week in and out, a never-say-die attitude, and a belief that they could take on any team in the country.<\/p>\n

It started in the best way possible when they claimed gold at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament<\/a> <\/strong>in March, sending out a strong message to their opponents in the stacked Western Cape region.<\/p>\n

The following month they recorded an impressive 5-1 win over Outeniqua,\u00a0<\/strong>and then won 3-0 at Affies. <\/strong>In a tight contest, they played to a 1-1 draw against Grey College<\/a><\/strong>, before narrowly going down 3-4 against a powerhouse South African College High School<\/strong> (SACS) <\/strong>team.<\/p>\n

In May, coach Grobler<\/strong> took his charges on a hunt for more silverware when they travelled to Gqeberha for the Hibbert Shield<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Paarl
Paarl Gim head coach Jacques Grobler alongside team manager Surindi Lombaard in the 2024 Interschools clash. Photo: Lookonimages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There, after starting brightly in the pool stages, they missed out on the semi-finals after a 2-5 loss to the eventual champions, Paul Roos, in the quarterfinals<\/a><\/strong>. In the end, in the most talent-laden tournament of the season, they finished joint seventh with Westville Boys’ High<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Following their Hibbert Shield exploits, Gim was held to a 2-2 draw by Rondebosch Boys’ High. <\/strong>They were then beaten 1-0 by Paul Roos . To close off term two, Gim defeated Parel Vallei<\/strong> 4-2 and Fairmont High<\/strong> 3-0 to head into the mid-year break with a spring in their step.<\/p>\n

In July, coach Grobler’s side returned to action at the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament.<\/b><\/p>\n

There, they played with intensity, executed exceptionally, and that brought them the gold medal after defeating SACS 2-1<\/a> <\/strong>in the final.<\/p>\n

A week later, they were brought back to earth on another trip to Cape Town, which ended in a 2-4 loss to Wynberg Boys’ High<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Before their interschools clash, Gim picked up a 3-1 win over Somerset College<\/strong>. Then, on Saturday, they capped off an impressive season with a win over their old foes<\/p>\n

“We had four major goals for the year, and we achieved three of them,” Grobler said.<\/p>\n

“We planned to win the two tournaments, win the interschools, and play in the semi-finals of the Hibbert Shield, and that’s where we really fell short.”<\/p>\n

Goals, though, are aspirational and the bar is deliberately set high, so to achieve three out of four was rewarding, Grobler added: “We’re happy with what we’ve achieved. There’s only so much you can do, and I think the boys have achieved their personal goals as well, and I’m quite happy to see that.”<\/p>\n

\"Paarl
Paarl Gim’s dangerman, Juan Swanepoel is one of the players that will still be around next season. He will look to cause teams massive headaches in 2025. Photo: Lookonimages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fortunately for Grobler and his remaining players, the 1st XI won’t need a complete overhaul next year, as the squad loses only six grade 12 boys.<\/p>\n

Skipper Nel and vice-captain Willem Matthee<\/strong> are part of that group, so Grobler emphasised a need for players to carry on with the good work they have done.<\/p>\n

“Yes, without a doubt, we will need leaders to step up next year,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, in terms of the brand of hockey and the way we play, there won’t be too much change.<\/p>\n

“We’ll have to tweak a few things here and there, improve certain aspects of our game, but we won’t reinvent the wheel,\u201d he ended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2024 hockey season is done and dusted for most schools, and all too quickly for some which shone, including Paarl Gimnasium. On Saturday, Gim ended their campaign with a commanding 2-0 win over their rivals, Paarl Boys’ High in their annual interschools clash in Paarl. First half goals, scored by skipper LD Nel\u00a0and Juan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":54302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}