Co-curricular - Senior Sport
Have a Go Kids and Let them Play Parents!!!
Part of the College Sports Program is that it aims to provide each student with opportunities for personal growth, physical/emotional development outside the classroom, experiencing teamwork and its' importance, sportsmanship and commitment.
During my brief time as the Head of Sport, I have noticed an increasing number of students opting to be involved in only one Co-curricular sports activity. Although our participation rates across all sports are very good, these observations have led me to discover that students are wanting to specialise in one sport and only train for that sport all year round. I can appreciate that some students have a passion for a particular sport however, author and medical experts John O’Sullivan and James Andrew’s research has shown that there are strong medical reasons for not specialising at a young age. These include:
- Children who specialise in a single sport account for 50% of overuse injuries in young athletes.
- A study by Ohio State University found that children who specialised early in a single sport led to higher rates of adult physical inactivity. Those who commit to one sport at a young age are often the first to quit and suffer a lifetime of consequences.
- In a study of 1,200 youth athletes, Dr Neeru Jayanthi of Loyola University found that early specialisation in a single sport is one of the strongest predictors of injury. Athletes in the study who specialised were 70- 93% more likely to be injured than children who played multiple sports.
- Children who specialise early are at a far greater risk for burnout due to stress, decreased motivation and lack of enjoyment.
Then there is the other side of the coin which unfortunately, a common phrase I hear around the playground is “but my parents won’t let me play.”
There are many reasons why parents may not like the idea of their sons trying a different sport. Some examples I have heard over the years include: It’s very expensive to buy sports equipment/uniform; we do not have time; we have other children and it is too hard to be everywhere on Saturday; we want our son to focus on his studies.
Whilst these reasons have merit to some degree, perhaps the most concerning one is: “My mum won’t let me because she thinks I’m going to get hurt”. The fact is that injuries will occur across all sports. Whilst AFL and Rugby Union are collision sports, they are played in a safe and controlled environment. When we think of these sports we automatically think about the high impact and big hits which we see on TV. I can assure you if you ever watch school boy footy, you will find that level of contact is far less than what is witnessed in professional sport.
My plea to parents, particularly mums, is let the boys play!
Arguably, the best age to explore trialling a sport like AFL or Rugby is 10 - 14 years of age where the physicality is quite low.
According to Sports Medicine Australia, Rugby Union Schoolboy injuries occur at 16 injuries per 1,000 playing hours, compared with 43 injuries per 1,000 playing hours at elite Rugby levels. In comparison, the rate of injury for Football players is 35 injuries per 1,000 playing hours. This alone highlights the disparity between your son/s playing Rugby at school compared to what you witness on TV in the Super Rugby/NRL and other sports.
I encourage all students to play sport all year round. At present the College is finalising its Winter sports team numbers. In some age groups in Football and Tennis numbers are quite healthy. It is unfortunate but the College can only cater for certain number of teams and as such, some students in these sports will miss out on selection. If your son would like to consider playing AFL or Rugby for the College and has not already nominated to do so on his Co-curricular form, I highly encourage you to contact me before next Monday 8 March. We would like to boost the number in AFL and Rugby Union to strengthen teams and give more students the opportunity to play this season.
Winter sport trials for Rugby, Football and Tennis commence on Wednesday 17 March.
Please note that a schedule for trials will be released by next week.
- Winter sports internal trials – Saturday 20 March.
- Black and Green Shield: Rugby, Football and Tennis trial fixture against Trinity Grammar – Saturday 27 March.
Combined Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival
Well done to the Swim squad who competed last Saturday night in the Combined Christian Brothers Carnival at Ryde Aquatic Centre. There were many impressive swims and PBs achieved, however the final race of the night was the highlight for me. The Opens 4x50m Freestyle Relay was set for a grandstand finish as our final leg swimmer Hayden Cotter entered the water neck to neck with rivals St Pius X. A terrific swim saw SPC touch first in the final stroke.
At the end of the evening, spirits were high as St Patrick’s won the Junior Shield, place second in the Intermediate Shield, won the Senior Shield and were crowned this year’s Combined Christian Brother Champions. What an unbelievable effort from the entire squad. To put the magnitude of this victory into perspective, the College Swim squad last won the Aggregate Trophy in 2015. Prior to this success, SPC had not raised the Aggregate shield since 1995.
Well done to the entire squad who will undoubtedly take confidence heading into next week’s ISA Swimming Championships.
Anthony Calavassy
Head of Secondary Sport