Sport News

After a very successful Term 1 we head into the winter sport season for chess, football, cross country and rugby. It is a busy time with lots on for the boys to keep them active.   

Marist Sport Key Performance Indicators

With the start of the new term it is timely to remind everyone of our key performance indicators for sport. While winning is good, and we do strive to win every game, we are a school and our purpose for playing sport is about so much more than the results. The staff are mindful that sport serves as a means to help develop essential values in our young men, such as character, discipline, respect, integrity, and teamwork, among others. 

1. Every team to be top 3 in their division and the program to be 1st or 2nd in the aggregate. All First teams to be competitive, aiming for a premiership at least every 3 years.
2. Every boy develops a love of the sport through their experience at Marist. That we provide opportunities for boys to develop skills, represent the College and play with their friends.
3. Every boy develops life skills through playing sport. These include being a member of a team (with boys they may not be friends with), setting goals, dealing with adversity (including being dropped, disagreeing with a referee decision), learning how to win with grace and lose with dignity and respect and challenging ourselves to get out of their comfort zone.

Uniform at Sport

It has been great to see that the message of we train in Marist gear has been well received this year. It really has been wonderful to see the blue and gold across our fields in Term 1 and it has so far continued well with football, cross country and rugby. There are a number of reasons why we want this. Firstly it builds a sense of belonging and unity and we are all together as one. Secondary to this it also equalises everyone (which is important when trialling teams) and thirdly, it makes life a lot easier operationally for coaches in organizing opposed training activities. Well done gents, keep it up.

On Saturdays when we play fixtures it is important that we present the College in a positive light as we are representatives of the College wherever we go. Boys are to turn up to matches either in playing kit or school uniform, getting changed to play. All boys must have covered shoes (no slides, thongs or Birkenstocks) and if it is a bit cooler the outerwear must be Marist apparel, either a tracksuit jacket, school hoodie or school jumper. No random jumpers or jackets should be seen. 

All spectators, including those boys who have played already need to be in full College uniform. This will include getting changed into school uniform at the completion of your match if you intend to stay and support others. If you are involved in games before the firsts and you are staying to watch, unless you are involved on the bench with the team you must get changed. No longer can boys use the excuse of I played the game before, it only takes five minutes to get changed. Boarders will need to take their change of clothes with you, similar to a day boy would need to do, in case the dorm is closed when you need to get changed.

Football - Mr Derek Lennon (Football Coordinator)

It was great to see our teams have a hit out last Saturday against St Joseph’s College. Terrace provided a stern test for us with many lessons learnt from the experience. In a similar way to the 1st XI who have now played six GPS schools in their pre-season, we have seen those boys raise their performance to be comfortable at the tempo of the GPS schools with the last two matches against Southport and Terrace showing we will be a strong force in the AIC competition. The GPS competition starts this Saturday so Terrace are a week ahead of us in terms of preparation for their season, and many of their teams played in the EREA Schools Cup for Edmund Rice schools last week. While we are still trialling and preparing our teams and coaches and players are still working out what we need to do, there were a number of boys absent without communicating, there were some boys who arrived late and some without the right gear. I was impressed with how competitive most teams were on the day and the matches will certainly benefit us with two weeks of training to go before Round 1.

This weekend we play St Laurences in a full round of trials. All teams will be playing this weekend and team lists will be available by Friday morning. We are still trialling so there will still be some movement, please do not think because you played against Terrace you will automatically be in in the same team, and likewise, if you did not play against Terrace it does not mean you will not make one of those higher teams. 

A quick reminder that all boys must have the current (Alinta/Noone) design football bumblebee jersey, blue multisport shorts and football socks. There may be some availability issues in some sizes so don’t leave it to the last minute and make sure you communicate with your coordinator in advance if you are having trouble sourcing the correct apparel.

The football handbook is available on the College App. Please make sure you have read it and understand the process and expectations as outlined in there, it is a great resource. If there are things you think you need to know that are not included in the handbook, please send me an email as I am always looking for ways to make the handbook more user friendly and relevant to what you want to know. 

Contact details for coaches and staff will be on the College App this week. Please make sure you contact your coach AND year coordinator if you are going to miss training or games in advance explaining why you will be absent. From Year 8 up I expect the boys to take responsibility for communicating this rather than parents.

AIC Football Coordinator Contact Details 

Year 5 Co-ordinator        Shane Wheeler                     wheelers@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 6 Co-ordinator        Matt Jones                             jonesm@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 7 Co-ordinator        Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh    kolkenbeckruhg@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 8 Co-ordinator        Patrick Denkes                    denkesp@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 9 Co-ordinator        Blair Whitlock                      whitlockb@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 10 Co-ordinator      Stewart Moore                   moores@marash.qld.edu.au

Open Co-ordinator          Derek Lennon                    lennond@marash.qld.edu.au

Football Co-ordinator     Derek Lennon                    lennond@marash.qld.edu.au

Behind the scenes there is a lot happening to develop our football program. A curriculum and a way of playing at Marist is coming together so there is an alignment of best practice principles, suited to our context. Over the season I will share with you parts of what that looks like for us (some parts we will want to remain confidential for tactical reasons), alongside the College Sport KPIs (of results love of the game and developing life skills) there is a bigger vision, development plan and mapping of development and performance that we are rolling out. The practical work on this starts this week with a whole program coaches education session on the principles of play, formations and systems, and best practice drills that support our principles.

1st XI Football

The 1st XI enjoyed a three-day camp on the Gold Coast during the holidays. This was a terrific week of training, a game against TSS, team building activities and bonding the group together. I was really impressed with the character, camaraderie and spirit of the boys, all great traits that will hold them in good stead for the challenges ahead. During the camp they worked on their values as a team or their trademark, essentially what they would like others to see in them. They came up with UNITY (cohesion, equity, selfless, mateship and togetherness); RUTHLESSNESS (passionate, tenacious and fearless) and INTEGRITY (professional, accountable and disciplined). Part of the process they go through is holding each other accountable to these values which is challenging for young men. The most impressive aspect of the group has been they are already living these values as young men and as a team. 

We as an entire College wish them well as they embark on the challenge as Marist First XI for 2023. 

Rugby Union - Mr Richard Graham – Director of Rugby / Track and Field

Easter Rugby Camp

A big thank you to the 300 plus students who attended the inaugural Easter Rugby Camp and the 25 coaches who helped make it a wonderful day of rugby.

The objectives of the camp were - 

1. To deliver an intense (3 hours), unique and exciting rugby experience.
2. Deliver a camp program tailored to the performance and development needs of all attendees. 
3. Continue to connect the Marist rugby union community and broader support bases.

Having spoken to a number of the students and parents, on what turned out to be a very hot day, it appears the boys had fantastic learning and at the same time, an exhausting rugby experience. 

After a 15-year hiatus, it was great to see Nudgee College back playing on McMahon Oval and Hayden Oval to help make our camp a success. It provided the 1st XV, 2nd XV and 7A’s with another very good trial opportunity. The results of the game were –

1st XV 

Nudgee College 31 df. Marist College 5

2nd XV

Nudgee College 10 df. Marist College 0

7A

Nudgee College 24 df. Marist College 10

Thank you to all the parents, students, Old Boys and wider rugby community who turned up to watch the games. It was noticeable the number of Marist students wearing the bumblebee jersey; the mums and dads, and old boys with their Marist caps; and the other passionate supporters scattered throughout the crowd. The large crowd numbers created a brilliant atmosphere at McMahon Oval and no doubt everyone enjoyed the fast-paced games of rugby. 

I would like to recognise and thank Mr Steve Jewell from Australian Money Market for his sponsorship of the camp. His contribution to the camp helped make the camp a memorable day for all the students involved.

A huge amount of work behind the scenes went into making the camp a great day. Thanks to the College staff for your hard work and commitment to delivering a memorable camp experience.

Marist Rugby vs St Laurence’s College

This week we have more training before playing St Laurence’s College in the last of our trials. It will be another massive day of rugby here at the College. Five fields will have rugby playing from the start of the day through to the 1st XV.

Every student will have the chance through training and games to put their best foot forward for selection.

Participation, maximum touches and maximum involvement are key objectives within our rugby program. Mr Reid has worked tirelessly through the holidays with the other Colleges to make sure we have games for every team. The majority of students will play 50 minutes of rugby in their first outing of Term 2 before heading into Round 1 of AIC next week.

The Year level coordinators and the coaches have been busy working through the teams, and will continue to do so until Round 1 of AIC versus Villanova.

Year 10 Rugby Union

Unfortunately, at the end of Term 2 we lost a number of very good coaches in the Year 10 level. I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr Peter McIntosh, Mr Anthony Mathison and Ms Mel Orcher for their significant contribution to the program over a long period of time. 

We would like to welcome Mr Pat Howard as coach of the 10As. An old boy and former Wallaby, Mr Howard will work with Mr Dean Collins in the 10A / B’s teams and the other coaches to make the Year 10 rugby experience a great one.

Rugby Year Level Coordinators

Rugby Selection Policy

Rugby teams at Marist College will be selected using the following criteria: 

• Ability and skill level
• Attitude
• Attendance at training/competition 
• Team composition 

The selection process is committed to maintaining consistency and fairness. Team changes will only occur based on performances after Round 3 of the AIC season and on a week-to-week basis if there is injury or unavailability. 

The promotion or demotion of players will occur after a meeting is convened by the age group coordinator between the coaches in each specific age group. The coach or age group coordinator will make every effort to give players appropriate and constructive feedback as to the reason for demotion and promotion. 

In relation to a student's selection, the College has a clear grievance policy for students:

• If a parent/guardian wish to discuss any concerns relating to the selection process, they must first contact the Director of Rugby. Under NO circumstances are parents/guardian to make direct contact with the coach of a team about this matter. 

Where possible, the coaches will announce the teams at the first training session each week. The final team lists will be posted on the Marist app each Friday morning once all teams have concluded their training sessions.

Track and Field (Mr Richard Graham- Director of Track and Field)

Report from the recent National Senior and Junior track and field titles - Mr Rob Martin- Marist Head Coach

Over the last two weeks of the holidays, the National Senior and Junior track and field titles were held in Brisbane. There were 14 Marist athletes competing for Queensland at these titles, and Marist was fortunate enough to come away with three national medals and a series of excellent performances including Finals, Top 5/Top 10, and many personal best performances. Congratulations to the following athletes on their efforts.

National Title Medal Winners

(i) Shea Caminiti - 90m Hurdles U13 - gold Medal (15.50) - New U13 age group added to Nationals this year and Shea took every opportunity to participate through the QLD Athletics pathway, won State titles first and then won Nationals in a personal best in the event. Great effort to win a Gold medal at first nationals, winning by 0.75s. Exceptional.

(ii) Lee Martin - U18 shot put - Silver Medal, personal best and New school record in Open Shot put (to be ratified) 16.21m (old record holder - Anthony Mathison). Lee continues to progress with his coach, school Head throws coach Des Davis, with another National medal after winning National All Schools in December 2022. Great work.

(iii) Joel Drew - U18 400m meter hurdles - Bronze medal and new personal best 54.21s backing up after the 110m hurdles heat and finals in the morning where despite being on way to a medal he clipped a hurdle late in the run. Showing incredible resilience Joel bounced back within 2 hours to win a bronze in a tough 400m hurdles race where the National record also fell. Gutsiest performance of the meet.

New Marist College School Record

Lee Martin – Under 18 Shot Put   

New school record 16.21m (to be ratified)

Old record – Anthony Mathison 16.18m (1997)

Well done to both Lee Martin and previous long-term record holder Anthony Mathison.

Additional Competitors at National Senior and U20 Track and Field Titles

George Daly - U20 400m Hurdles - George Daly 16th in Australia after only starting the event late in 2022. A great achievement to qualify after only 3 races.

U20 400m Hurdles – 16th overall

Lee Martin – Also qualified through QLD State titles to throw in the u20 age group as a 16 year old against athletes 2-3 years older. Made the final at National level.

U20 Shot Put – Lee Martin (6th Australian, 8th overall)

Additional Competitors at National Junior Track and Field Titles

Connor Campbell – A very busy program. Great effort over 2 days and 3 long sprint events.

U15 200m Hurdles - 4th in Australia in 200m hurdles (27.49s), 

U15 400m - Personal Best in 400m 53.84s,

U15 100m hurdles – Just missed National final after clipping hurdle late in race while in 3rd position.

Isaac Ting – After qualifying via time at AIC last year, Isaac continued to run more qualifiers and added another event. Great results with consistent training.

U16 200m Hurdles – 28.96s

U16 100m Hurdles – 14.46s (Personal Best)

Sam Brassington – A massive new personal best and Top 8 Finals placing in Australia. Great throwing in first National titles hitting big throw when needed to make final.

U18 Javelin – 53.98m (8th Place)

Jonah Miles –Strong throwing in a deep field where the top 3 were all within 60cm of each other and the rest of the field were all very close.

U17 Javelin – 44.92m (13th place)

Xavier Simms – Excellent sprinting from our North QLD athlete running in the warm conditions. Xavier was 11th in own age in Australia in 200m and 14th in the 100m for his age in Australia

U18 200m – 22.68s personal best (11th in Aust for his age)

U18 100m – 11.22s (14th in Aust for his age)

Zac Milligan – Continues to excel at National level with some gutsy running. Started fast in the 3000m at a blistering pace. Backed up a day later in the 1500m to take 8th place.

U16 1500m – 8th place (4m11.16)

U16 3000m - finalist

Asher Parkin – After a long All Schools Season Asher came back and ran incredibly well closing in on breaking 9 minutes for the 3000m. Great running in the longest event on the track at this event.

U17 3000m – 10th place (9m02.58s)

Isaiah Burgess – Excellent throwing to make Top 10 at first National final in 9th position. A Personal Best throw on the big stage in front of a large crowd.

U17 Shot Put – 9th (12.17m PB)

Charlie Campion – After enjoying the Little Athletics pathway he started later in the QLD Athletics system, trained consistently and ran a personal best when it mattered.

U14 100m Hurdles - 10th in Australia with a personal best (15.28s). Well done

James Prole – A fast 800m time in a stacked heat with a number of athletes targeting youth Commonwealth games qualifiers. Great running.

U18 800m – 1m58.57s 

Well done to all the athletes who competed at National Titles and we look forward to seeing them all back up in the AIC season where Marist will seek another AIC track and field team title.

Tennis

Welcome back to Term 2, and I hope everyone had the opportunity to relax and recover over Easter and enjoy some time off with family and loved ones.

Term 2 has started with a bang for tennis, with solid numbers turning out for our trials in the second week of the holidays for AIC squad selection for hopeful first and second players. All three days were intense, with Bo and I putting the boys through various court drills, and we were able to see improvement in many boys across all year levels of students.

Our Holiday Clinic was a lot of fun, with all students having a great time learning new skills and, more importantly, meeting new friends. Well done to all who attended the three days, making it enjoyable for us as well.

Term 2 coaching started back yesterday with good numbers, but we also understand some could not attend. With such a busy term ahead, we had to start all squads this week to give us time at the back end of this term to be able to get our AIC trials in and have the time to assess all students for team selection.

All year levels, from Year 5 to Opens, will begin once-a-week trials in Week 6 of this term, and trial days for each year will be posted closer to this date.

In Weeks 9 and 10 of this term, we will be having two trials per week as we ramp up for team selections.

Coaching for Term 2

Monday group class started back yesterday, and all of our squad classes are starting this week, with two squads starting back yesterday.

Our last two trials for the 1st X Squad are this week on Thursday 3:30pm-5:30pm and Friday 5:30pm-7:30pm. (Sorry for the late change in time, but we have our fixtures in full swing with all the courts being utilised). Our team for training will be announced on Friday after the session.

If you are a squad member and have not booked your private lesson yet, please do so as we are almost at full capacity in all seven squads offered this term

(not including the free, 1st X squad).

Fixtures

Div 1 5:00pm-6:30pm Wednesday

Div 2 and 3, 3:30pm-5:30pm Fridays

All squad members are eligible to play for free, but you must let us know that you are playing to be a part of it.

Email: MCATennis@marash.qld.edu.au or call or text 0437 449 523.

MCA Tennis would like to welcome some new faces to the coaching staff with Eddie Walker, Zoey Nguyen, and Jack Stone. All these new coaches will be working on some days only as needed with demand.

I hope you make them all feel welcome and show them the Marist warmth that we are so widely known for.

See you at the courts - MCA Tennis Team.

Student Achievements

Well done to a group of dedicated Marist baseball enthusiasts. Selected for Junior League Div 1 Brisbane Metro team, Quinn Lovering (Year 8 Foley), Sam Robertson (Year 9 Ephrem), Leo McKenna (Year 9 Gilroy) and Lachlan Pawsey (Year 9 Ignatius) competed at the QLD State Titles this past weekend and won! This hard-fought victory sends them to Adelaide at the end of May to compete against the best baseball players in the country at the National Championships. 

Saturday 23 April - Trial Draws

Football v SLC

Rugby Union v SLC

Cross Country – Mr Mitch Reid, Cross Country Coordinator

Welcome to cross country for Term 2. With the AIC Championships in Week 7, the start of Term 2 is an important time for the squad to continue training with consistency and commitment as we begin to participate in races.

Training

Weeks 1 and 2 will have the same training structure as Term 1, with sessions scheduled on Monday-Thursday mornings. Students are expected to attend two sessions per week. All sessions will start at the Marist Pool. The training schedule will change as the squad starts competing in races from Week 3 onwards.

Strength and Conditioning

A strength and conditioning session will be added to the weekly training schedule for Term 2. This is open to Years 7-12 students only.

Day and Time: Thursday – First Break (11:20am – 12:10pm).

Venue: College Gym (located at the pool).

Students are to eat their lunch and then get changed in the pool changing rooms, before starting the session at 11:40am.

Term 2 Race Schedule

Races are an important part of the lead-up to the AIC Championship. They are a great way to test our fitness and see how training is progressing. They are also important to record a time or position to help with selection for the championships and to have fun representing the College against other AIC schools.

House Cross Country Carnival

Both Primary (Week 1) and Secondary (Week 3) House Cross Country Carnivals will take place during school time.

AIC Practice Meets - Wednesday 10 May, Wednesday 17 May, Wednesday 24 May

Practice meets are scheduled for Wednesday afternoons. All students wanting to make the final team are encouraged to attend these meets. Students will catch a bus with staff to and from the meets after school.

AIC Championships - Wednesday 31 May

Twelve students per age group will represent the College at the AIC Championships. This is an all-day event.

Swimming

Over the recent school holiday break, the MCA Swim Club had 26 swimmers compete at Australian Age Nationals held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre. The club had some fantastic results as swimmers competed against the best age group swimmers in the country.

We would like to congratulate the following swimmers on claiming National Age Championships:

• Hannah Casey - 1st Girls 16 Years 200 Freestyle
• Josh Mason - 1st Boys 14 Years 100 Breaststroke and 200 Breaststroke

The following swimmers posted top 20 results in their events:

• Archie Bathe - Boys 16 Years 12th 400 IM
• Hannah Casey - Girls 16 Years 2nd 50 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly, 3rd 100 Freestyle, 4th 100 Butterfly
• Noah Coco - Boys 16 Years 14th 50 Butterfly
• Emily Draper - Girls 16 Years 9th 50 Butterfly, 13th 50 Freestyle
• Isaac Farrelly - Boys 14 Years 18th 50 Backstroke
• Jack Goyen - 1st QLD Team 18 Years State Relay,  Boys 18 Years 3rd 100 and 200 Freestyle, 5th 50 Freestyle, 15th 100 Butterfly, 17th 50 Butterfly
• Jack Kelly - Boys 18 Years 14th 400 Freestyle, 15th 200 Butterfly, 19th 200 Freestyle
• James Leigh - Boys 16 Years 7th 400 IM, 9th 200 and 400 Freestyle, 10th 200 IM, 12th 100 Freestyle
• Josh Mason - Boys 14 Years 5th 50 Breaststroke
• Archer Mellifont - Boys 14 Years 3rd 200 Freestyle, 5th 50 Backstroke, 6th 50 Freestyle, 7th 100 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle, 10th 200 Backstroke, 20th 100 Backstroke. Also 3rd as part of a QLD Team Relay 13-14 Years Mixed Medley
• Ryan O’Toole - Boys 15 Years 9th 50 Freestyle
• Boys 14-15 Years 4x50 Freestyle Relay 5th - Ryan O’Toole, Noah Magoffin, Lachlan Harney, Archer Mellifont
• Boys 14-15 Years 4x50 Medley Relay 8th - Archer Mellifont, Josh Mason, Noah Magoffin, Ryan O’Toole
• Boys 16-17 Years 4x50 Freestyle Relay 4th - Noah Coco, Bailey Skinner, Nick Marco, Luca Martinuzzi

Congratulations to the following swimmers on also competing:

Chelsea Adams, Siana O’Callaghan, Olivia Peck, Jack Purcell, Max Russo, Makenzie Sharpe, Kate Shield, Lachie Vink, Abigail Wild, Ruby Wilson

This week it is the open swimmer's chance to compete at the Australian Swimming Championships, also held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre. Best of luck to the following swimmers: Hannah Casey, Jack Goyen, Lily Tomlinson.

Also, congratulations to the boys who swam at the QLD School Sport Swimming Championships during the last week of term 1. Notable results included:

• Nathaniel Christison - Boys 12 Years 3rd 200 Freestyle, 7th 100 Freestyle, 9th 200 IM, 15th 50 Freestyle
• Nicholas Osborn - Boys 13 Years 1st 100 Butterfly and 100 Freestyle, 2nd 200 IM 50 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle, 3rd 50 Buttefly
• Lachlan Harney - Boys 16 Years 9th 100 Freestyle, 19th 50 Freestyle
• Sam Mapledoram - Boys 13 Years 12th 50 Freestyle
• Nicholas Marco - Boys 17-19 Years 6th 50 Freestyle, 16th 50 Breaststroke
• Max Russo - Boys 15 Years 19th 50 Freestyle
• Lachie Vink - Boys 16 Years 10th 50 Breaststroke

From this meet and these results, Nathaniel Christison and Nicholas Osborn have been selected for the QLD School team to compete at the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships to be held in Sydney in August. Well done and good luck boys. 

We would like to remind the College community that swimming training and competition meets for the MCA Swim Club continue over the winter months for all levels of abilities. We are fortunate to have a heated pool on offer and over the Easter break, a 25m pop-up wall will be installed to allow the pool to be split in two. This will create greater space and provide swimmers with the opportunity to train in short course environment. For those interested in swimming over the next two terms, please email Christine Baillie (swim@marash.qld.edu.au) and she will be able to assist you with your enquiries.

Weekly Sport Photos

Share your photos with us! Are you at the games on the weekend? Share your photos with us via this secured Dropbox link. We want to capture as many games of Football and Rugby Union as we can this season!

https://www.dropbox.com/request/rjteYuXpnEDJXuYjhnk1

Photo enquiries to Bethany Halpin via community@marash.qld.edu.au.