Story courtesy of College Sport Media

Luca Siegel is well-equipped to deal with the emotional challenges of football. The Year 13 goalkeeper has been on both ends of penalty shootout fortunes.

In the 2022 Trevor Rigby Cup final, Siegel failed to make a stop as Wellington College edged Hutt International Boys’ School (HIBS) after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.

The following week at Nationals HIBS rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the quarter-finals against St Kentigern College to force a shootout. Siegel was in rare form.

“I saved two shots, one of which was the best safe I’ve ever made, diving at full length to prevent the ball from going in the corner, he said.

“Goalkeeping is all about confidence. In the past when I made a mistake, I would let it eat at me and found when that happened things went from bad to worse. Even the best keepers make mistakes. You’ve got too able to flush it and stay focused. Experience, encouragement from my parents, and great coaching has helped me get better.”

In January that growth in maturity was recognised when Siegel was selected to trail for the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ who will play the Malaysian and Singaporean Schoolboys in April.

The trial proved to be a task another task in handling extremes.

“It was held at Western Springs in Auckland on January 27 at the start of the floods. When the game kicked off the ball just stopped before it got past the half way circle. I played for Southern, and it was a 2-2 draw. It was a pretty good game considering the conditions.”

In Asia New Zealand be subject to intense heat and humidity.

“I don’t know how we're going to prepare for that. Maybe sit a few saunas and stay hydrated,” Siegel laughed.

“We won’t have much preparation time and we expect pretty competitive opposition. I’ve played with a few of the boys before and so we’ve just got to trust each other and go out and do our best.”

The HIBS First XI built plenty of trust in each other last year. Siegel conceded fewer goals than any other keeper in the Trevor Rigby Cup and after the final setback they rallied to finish second in New Zealand, the best result by a Wellington school at Nationals since 2011.

“Losing the Wellington final was just devastating, especially for the Year 13 boys because it’s their last chance. At Nationals we just loved each other’s company. Even morning tea was hilarious. Maybe being out of the bubble of Wellington was the best thing for us at that time.”

Being in goal has been the best thing for Siegel, but he wasn’t always a keeper.

“I’m a Stop Out junior and then moved to Petone when I was about ten. At Petone, I started in one of the weakest teams which I was pretty upset about. There was a tournament, and the A team needed a goalie. Mum told them I was a good goalie and so I got to go to the tournament. We won and I only conceded one goal. Thanks, Mum.”

P.S. Football nationals weren’t the only Nationals Siegel was a part of. He was a member of the HIBS First XI cricket team that won the Wellington title and was fourth at the ‘Gillette Cup,’ beating Mount Albert Grammar School and Napier Boys’ High School at the tournament. 

Article added: Wednesday 15 February 2023