Munro driven to boot group-stage pitfalls Inspired by death of 16-y-o player Kamal Reynolds

Munro College will enter the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) daCosta Cup campaign this season with a renewed sense of purpose, seeking to honour the memory of outstanding Under-16 player Kamal Reynolds, while ending their group-stage struggles.

Reynolds, who was set to make his daCosta Cup debut, died by drowning, leaving his teammates with a personal motivation as they prepare for the competition.

“We are mourning the loss of Kamal. The players have committed to playing this season in honour of his memory. I think it is one of the main objectives for this season. He would have played an integral part on our team,” said second-year coach Everdean Scarlett.

With 65 per cent of last season’s squad retained, Scarlett believes Munro have the foundation to build synergy and momentum as the school prepares for its opening match on Saturday.

“As coach, I want players to play from the get-go. I want to build that team synergy from the first round. You don’t want to wait on the second round, where you know all the top-tier teams are,” Scarlett said.

“I intend to use the first round of the new tournament format to build team synergy and give momentum going into the second round. I think it’s good for us as a team.”

In the upcoming season, teams have been seeded in the daCosta and Manning Cup league format competitions for the first time.

Unseeded teams will battle it out in the first round, with the top ones moving on to the second round, where the seeded teams will then join action.

All teams in the rural daCosta Cup (d’Cup) and Corporate Area Manning Cup will be involved in both the Ben Francis KO and Walker Cup KO competitions. This was the format used many, many years ago.

But in recent years, only the eight losing teams in the Round of 16 were eligible to challenge for the knockout titles, prompting a reference to both competitions as the ‘Losers’ Cup’.

For Munro, a household name, the coach’s primary goals are to advance out of the group stage and be more competitive than last season.

“My first expectation is to get out of the group, as we didn’t last season. Secondly, it is to be more competitive than last season. Based on a new format, it is going to be competitive. We can’t take it for granted because everybody will be competing,” said Scarlett.

Last season, Munro had a heartbreaking first-round exit. In Zone E, Munro finished the season fifth with eight points after two wins, two losses and two draws.

Regarding pre-season preparations, Scarlett said despite some challenges, the team is progressing well with conditioning meeting the expected standards.

“Preparations were good. There were a few hiccups because we lost a player, which dampened team spirit a bit. But I think the boys dug in and put in some work to have a pretty good preseason.