The Spartans claimed their first-ever South Island championship in Nelson, adding to their third Thompson Trophy title.
Now the team is eyeing further success at the national secondary schools championships in Palmerston North, starting on September 22.
Head coach Fraser Costley said the goal is to better the school’s previous best national finish of ninth, achieved in 2010.
“Hopefully things can go our way in pool play and we can get through to that top eight. Then take that step further this year,” he said.
Most of Shirley’s current squad have played under Costley since year 9, including his son Kobe who was not named after the late NBA player Kobe Bryant.
“We’ve just been building year-on-year and just steadily improving,” Costley said.
“We’re probably five years deep in terms of work and development to get us to this point, and I think we’re just getting the results now as a result of that work.”
“We’ve managed to prove to ourselves that we can foot it with the best, but also battle and find a way to win close games,” Costley said.
“It definitely gives you that confidence when you’re in a tight game, you’ve been there before, you know you’ve done it before.”
It is not just the senior side enjoying success. Shirley’s junior team won their South Island tournament, after also winning the year 9/10 Grocott Trophy competition for Canterbury schools.
It is only the second time a school has won both South Island titles in the same year, after Otago Boys’ High achieved the feat in 2013.
Junior coach James Lissaman said the school is experiencing a rare “golden generation”.
“You’ve got the perfect storm with the amount of talent at senior and junior level being in the same calendar year, it’s pretty amazing,” he said.
Almost all of the junior team played as year 9s in the same tournament last year, giving them valuable experience as year 10s this season.
The team went unbeaten on their way to the title.
“It’s honestly a season that’s probably not likely to happen for any of them ever again,” Lissaman said, “where you just win every single game you’re in as a team, together.”
