Sports Department News

Girton Students Excel in the Pool

At the recent Sandhurst Division Swimming Carnival, Girton won all sections, as well as 4 of our students gaining Age Champion medallions. The competition against the other secondary schools in Bendigo and surrounding areas was conducted at the Faith Leech Aquatic Centre on Friday 1st March. Victory Christian College joined the competition for the first time this year.

The Sandhurst Division now consists of 11 secondary schools.

Sections:

13 – 16 Years Division A Boys – Girton

13 – 16 Years Division A Girls – Girton

17 – Open Senior Champions - Girton

Overall Champions – Girton

Individual Age Champions:

13 Boys: Hunter Boswell (7 Jenkin)

14 Girls: Ella Downing (8 Frew)

15 Boys: Angus Falconer (9 Aherne)

Open Boys: Sebastian Wood (12 Riley)

A large number of our students achieved first place in their individual events or in relays which qualifies them for the Loddon Mallee regional swimming event in Swan Hill on Thursday 21st March. Students successful at this regional competition will represent Girton at the School Sport Victoria (SSV) State swimming championships in Melbourne on Wednesday 24th April.

ICCES Swimming Carnival

On Wednesday 6th March our swimming team travelled to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre to compete in the Independent Country Co-Educational Schools (ICCES) Swimming Carnival.

This is a quality competition and our swimmers know that to achieve a placing at this level is a fine achievement.

Girton placed second behind Ballarat Grammar. We had several students who achieved excellent results, including five of our students receiving Age Champion awards.

Individual Age Champions:

Year 7 Boys: Hunter Boswell (7 Jenkin)

Year 9 Boys: Angus Falconer (9 Aherne)

Year 10 Boys: Harry Downing (10 Frew)

Year 11 & 12 Girls: Mila Grant (11 Jenkin)

Year 11 & 12 Boys: Sebastian Wood (12 Riley)

Sports Excellence News

The students in the Foundation One (first year) Sports Excellence Programme this week have been enjoying performing exercises with increasing complexity. We have introduced the correct form for a Squat Technique and the Pretzel Stretch which are providing new and exciting challenges, whilst still continuing to develop trunk stability, flexibility and breathing throughout various exercises. It has been pleasing to observe the students participating in the Programme with the desire to improve whilst communicating positively with each other over physical activity. In the coming weeks, we look to continue our focus on performing these exercises, and others, accurately and effectively to build the foundations for future years. A reminder for all students in the Foundation Programme to change promptly after school to arrive on time to each session, allowing us to get through more exercises each day.

The Developmental One (second year) students continued to show enormous improvements every single week with the introduction of the sand bells to the programming. Students are aware of the rep ranges they should stick between and are able to tailor sand bells accordingly. This week was focused on the squat/ hinge movement pattern and saw students learn the new skill the ‘cossack squat’ whilst refining their single leg squat technique. It is imperative students look after their bodies during the week by foam rolling and stretching as with increased load we increase the risks associated with each movement. If students feel sore or are unable to complete a specific movement they should consult a program facilitator before attempting the movement at home. Overall a solid week of training, next week will incorporate more conditioning to give the body a rest.

The Developmental Four (third year) group have begun working towards mastering overhead squats, an extremely challenging traditional strength exercise. Some students are using thick resistance bands to add load to this movement, while others are using the aid of the TRX to get further depth and control into the movement before load is added. Single leg deadlifts were also revisited this week and the students added a counter movement jump into the ACL pre-hab training. This movement requires a small depth jump with a safe landing, immediately followed by a jump for height, again with a safe landing. Next week students will be working on their running techniques while also a hanging front foot lift and an increase in complexity of the lunge movement are sure to be challenging.

Due to the significant increase in the overall programme numbers from last year, we have Mr Dean Norris joining Mr Marcus Smalley, Mrs Carmel Hamilton and Mr Ben Furphy involved as joint facilitators. Please see below for the appropriate contact for your son or daughter:

• Any student new to the program in 2019, regardless of year level – Mr Dean Norris (deannorris@girton.vic.edu.au)
• Any student who worked with Mrs Hamilton in 2018 will again do so – Mrs Carmel Hamilton (carmelhamilton@girton.vic.edu.au)
• Any student who worked with Mr Furphy in 2018 will again do so – Mr Ben Furphy (benfurphy@girton.vic.edu.au)
• Any student who worked with Mr Smalley in 2018 will again do so – Mr Marcus Smalley (marcussmalley@girton.vic.edu.au)

Please contact your son or daughter’s direct teacher for general questions, or to advise of an absence for a session.

Our third and final resource section on ACL prevention focuses on what we do in the Sports Excellence Program to prevent the likelihood of an ACL injury. We use resources and guidance from a number of areas, including the Netball Australia KNEE Program (https://knee.netball.com.au/) and Mick Hughes, renowned ACL prevention and rehabilitation specialist (we highly recommend following his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts). The exercises that are contained within these two resources are very easy to follow and can be done at home. Please consult with your son or daughter however as to what exercises they are doing in class, and do not exceed the difficulty of these. We cannot add a layer of complexity to a movement or skill the student hasn’t yet developed.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine recently published a paper titled “Evidence-Based Best Practice Guidelines for Preventing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Young Female Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” (link to paper - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30001501). The conclusion from the findings states:

CONCLUSION:

Considering the aggregated evidence, we recommend that ACL NMT (neuro-muscular training) programs target younger athletes and use trained implementers who incorporate lower body strength exercises (ie, Nordic hamstrings, lunges, and heel-calf raises) with a specific focus on landing stabilization (jump/hop and hold) throughout their sport seasons.

The Girton SEP has trained implementers who incorporate each of the exercises listed, with a specific focus on landing stabilisation. Furthermore, the paper published a checklist for prevention programs to assess their effectiveness. This checklist is attached, and the Girton SEP scores an 11, the maximum value, which is classed as “largely beneficial”.