THEY'RE the unstoppable squad that no-one has an answer for, year after year.
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Bathurst swept all before them at the weekend's Kim Small Shield to celebrate another victory at the annual under 11s girls tournament in Tamworth.
The team successfully defended the division A title that they won last year, and when including 2021's division B victory it's the third straight year that Bathurst has tasted glory at the event.
Coach Jaden Ekert and manager Candice Falconer guided the team through eight unbeaten games on the field over the three-day tournament, and the team also claimed a pair of exhibition indoor wins.
![Bathurst's unbeaten Kim Small Shield side celebrate their success at Tamworth. Picture supplied. Bathurst's unbeaten Kim Small Shield side celebrate their success at Tamworth. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YpbCWLfGAstDHC22gJwdbm/1ef5b307-0d47-4dc5-9016-26c30048290b.jpg/r0_73_2048_1343_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Bathurst went unbeaten through games against North West Sydney, Tamworth, Northern Sydney Beaches, Illawarra South Coast, New England, Grafton and Newcastle in their pool games and then drew their first-versus-second fixture to secure the title.
Bella Crawford, who was recently selected as a NSW PSSA representative, was named the player of the tournament.
"It was amazing to watch. The sole purpose of this weekend was to develop hockey and have fun," Falconer said.
"We have a team of superstars. The chances of us defending our title were pretty high, but that wasn't the focus.
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"Because the girls were playing so well, and always listening and developing, that was the reason we were winning."
Several members of the Bathurst team - Western representative Crawford, and Polding's title-winning pair of Charlotte Falconer and Evie Ekert - recently competed at the NSW PSSA Girls Hockey Championships, and their experience was valuable in helping the team finish on top.
Falconer said it's always exciting to watch the city's top junior talent coming together from different teams to develop strongly as a group.
"We had players from South, Pat's and Oberon come together for this. They all play against each other regularly but playing together is a new experience for these girls," she said.
"It's great for the girls to not only have the seven games of field hockey but also two games of indoor hockey, which don't count for anything but are a chance for the girls to get some experience, and then the final."
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