Sport News

Last week I talked about our expectations around uniforms. It has been pleasing to see an increase in the uptake of that new level of expectation but we still have a way to go. Over the coming weeks, coaches are going to be having some tough conversations with boys participating in training sessions and matches. I want to be clear here, we will forfeit matches or play short rather than accept a lesser standard than a school like ours expects. I would rather lose a game of cricket or rugby or football today and have the benefit of a young man learning a valuable life skill than win the game and lose that learning opportunity for our boys.

I can appreciate that many of our community will consider this unnecessary and an onerous expectation but a part of the responsibility of a school like ours is to prepare young men of character, commitment and respect. How we present ourselves and the standards we accept play a part in the development of these values in our boys.

This week my focus on our expectations is on behaviour and commitment. As with last week, I aim to outline our expectations for the Marist community, this will be shared with coaches, spoken about at assembly and shared amongst the College app sport pages so everyone is clear and has a reference point of expectation.

Commitment

One of the disappointing elements, and they have been few and far between, I have come across in my first year at the College has been boys missing training, and worse, missing matches. It did surprise me when talking through issues with our coaches and coordinators the number of boys who miss matches. The expectation of the College is that if you have committed to playing a sport it takes priority over everything else. This includes club sport, weekends away, staying at a mate's house, and so on. Similar to the uniform expectations, it is a valuable life lesson to honour a commitment when sometimes there are better options. Obviously, from time to time there are extenuating circumstances that do mean boys will have to miss matches and we understand these. In this case, notice should be given to the coach, the year coordinator and the sport coordinator as soon as possible explaining the absence and the reason why.

In a similar vein with training, we do have attendance issues with training. A commitment is a commitment and players need to respect the sport and their teammates by being at training unless an emergency or illness get in the way.

Any requests to miss matches or training must be approved by the relevant sport coordinator (or year coordinator in larger sports). 

Injured players are expected to attend training unless contagious with an illness.

Expectations

Start times for training are just that - not arrival times. If training starts at 3:30pm that means you are on the field with all equipment needed on ready to go, not just arriving.

Training is work time not social time. To play at your best you need to train at your best. Attitude is vital here.

All players must have the appropriate equipment for sport, such as shin pads for football, mouthguards for rugby, rugby league, AFL. 

Each boy must bring their own full water bottle with them for all training sessions and matches. Team managers will encourage the boys to drink water but ultimately players are responsible for their hydration.

All players are to shake hands/ fist bump with their opponents at the completion of the match. This is to occur before any War Cry or team celebrations occur.

Values of a Marist Athlete

COMMITMENT- We sacrifice whatever necessary to be the best we can be. Specifically, that relates to attitude to training, taking care of the small details in a professional manner, working hard and giving his best in everything we do. Coaches should educate the players in these areas, as it could be the ultimate difference. We have a low tolerance for a player who does not want to better himself both academically and as a footballer.

WORK HARD- We value hard work. Without question, we demand a big effort from our players in everything they do. We apologise to no one for wanting to be the best. Working hard is the only way to achieve this goal.

LOYALTY - loyalty to each other; loyalty to the College.

DISCIPLINE - discipline to work hard; act with integrity; to accept disappointment.

SACRIFICE - in order to get, first you must give.

HONESTY - open and honest communication gives us the edge. We tell the truth so we can soar as the journey unfolds. 

GOOD HABITS - we are creatures of habit. Therefore the habits we form must be helpful. 

AIC Competition

I thought it was important to highlight the nature of the AIC competition, what it stands for, how it is organised and how that impacts, positively and negatively on us as a College.

The AIC (Associated Independent Colleges) grew from the TAS competition, starting in 1999. Next year is the 25th year of AIC competition which will see some promotion and activity around this.

MOTTO

Learning and growth through sport and competition.

VISION

To develop good and healthy young people of character through sport and competition within a Christian context.

MISSION

The AIC will provide well-organised competitions in sport and other activities that foster participant engagement and pride in communities in a holistic Christian context. Our students, staff and families (both past and present) will nurture spiritual, moral, emotional, intellectual, physical, and social development through respectful and compassionate relationships in a safe environment.

The member schools are:

• Iona College
• Padua College
• St Edmund’s College
• St Laurence’s College
• Villanova College
• St Patrick’s College
• St Peters Lutheran College
• Marist College Ashgrove

* Ambrose Treacy College is a guest member, participating in championship sports and byes in weekly competitions as suitable.

The sports involved include:

Term 1                  Cricket, AFL#, Volleyball#, Swimming

Term 2                  Football, Rugby, Chess#, Cross Country#, Golf#

Term 3                  Rugby League#, Basketball#, Tennis#

Term 4                 Track and Field, Water Polo#, Touch*, E-Sports#*

*non-championship, carnival or trial

The obvious benefits to our College are an organised, fully developed program of sports and activities competing against like schools where we can provide opportunities for boys to develop, shine, learn and grow as young men. It has served us well over 24 years and will continue to do so into the future. It does present some challenges for us as well. The biggest is the differing sizes of the schools involved, which leads to inequity in team numbers. I have highlighted to sports that have limited team entries. 

As one of the biggest schools in the AIC, and with a healthy boarding community as well as a day population who value sport as a community, this is a significant challenge for us. I highlighted in Week 3 one of the ways we can address the issue, I will not go into detail again here, except to say it is still the firm belief of the College that we want boys playing sport, we will cater for every boy that wants to play in sports that we have opportunity to play, and we will always try and find suitable opposition for every team we have. What does not work is putting our C, D and E teams up against A and B teams from schools outside the AIC competition. We understand the frustration boys and parents feel when byes or internal matches happen but Marist puts forward by far the largest number of teams across the program.

AFL - Mr Derek Lennon (Head of Sport)

We are off to a great start with the 1sts having a good solid win against St Patrick's College in Round 1 and lots of great results on Saturday morning in the trial fixtures.

Final Selections

Most age groups are still fine-tuning the make-up of the sides and in some cases, due to the competition rules, we will have more boys wanting to play than we can cater for. Check the College App or speak with coaches and staff if unsure.

Uniform

If you are yet to purchase your playing kit for the season please confirm with your coach or Mr Lambourne (Years 5-6, Ms Franklin (Years 7-8) and Mr Earnshaw (Years 9-10) that you have made a team for 2023 before purchasing.

All Marist AFL players must purchase a shirt, shorts and socks from the uniform shop (once teams are finalised) and wear the correct apparel for matches.

The coaches preference is for boys to also wear the playing kit for training as it is more robust for opposed drills and is reversible for training games. Boys- you might need to learn how to use the washing machine.

Equipment

All players need a mouthguard and boots and a water bottle (or 2) for training and games.

Gameday

Players need to arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the match and be ready to go, boots on. No one is to be wearing slides or thongs. You are able to arrive in your playing gear.

Training

All players are required to be at all training sessions. If you are going to miss training you must contact your coach (contact details on the AFL page of the College App) in advance to explain why you are missing training. For Year 5-8 boys a parent can make contact, for Years 9-12 boys the expectation is that you take responsibility yourself.

You need to be at training, ready to go at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Matches

All players are expected to be available for all matches and meet the commitment you have made to the College, your coach and teammates. If you are unable to play in a match you must contact your coach and Mr Lennon (Head of Sport Year 7-12) or Mr Lambourne (Head of Sport Year 5-6) as soon as possible to explain why you are unable to play.

This Week

The training schedule is on the College App. Team lists will be finalised as soon as possible and posted on the App. Fixtures will be available on the App by mid-week- we are playing Villanova in Round 1 (1st XVIII remember you are on a different draw with ATC in the comp).

Once you know you are in a team make sure you have the right apparel and equipment to play.

If you can get out and support the 1sts boys this Friday night I know they would appreciate it.

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

In recent communication, Mr Lennon has provided some clarity about dress expectations for all sports. Just to add further detail for boys trialling for the 1st XV, continue to wear your MCA Sports Shirt for training sessions. 

For trial games, the dress code will be the Marist Rugby Bumblebee jersey, Marist Rugby shorts and Marist Rugby socks. The 2022 1st XV shorts and socks will not be accepted as part of the uniform. Similarly, any student selected in the 2nd XV for the AIC season will play in the Marist Rugby Bumblebee jersey.

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

The Marist College Track and Field program is looking to start 2023 with a bang. A number of boys from Years 8 to 12 have continued to train through the holidays in preparation for the Queensland Junior Championships in early March.

NOTE - all 12 years to 18 years old athletes can attend the Queensland Junior Championships with no qualifier required and it is great opportunity regardless of previous experience. A significant number of the older Track and Field members started their journey the same way. 

These opportunities build confidence for meets later in the year and if you can run either a qualifier or Top 3 you can make it to the Queensland State Athletics team.

Pathways Options moving through Term 1->:

1. There are 2 more Shield Meets until the Queensland Junior Championships - If your son would like to test themselves, we can discuss how to register, and they can still run at the Queensland Junior Championships in their chosen events. If they get either a qualifying time or Top 3 they can make the Queensland team and Nationals Championships in Brisbane this year.
2. Regardless of attending Meets or the Queensland Junior Championships, there will be times/distances recorded during upcoming PE sessions and the House carnival at end of Term 2 before a busy school and representative season in Terms 3 and 4. If you are not quite ready for these meets, please continue training in your other sports and when you can elsewhere to maintain running fitness. We are seeking committed athletes for a run at Title #9.

Dates for potential meets (Remaining in Term 1):

• 11 Feb (Queensland Athletics Shield Meet) - Predominantly the sprints at this meet.
• 25 Feb (Queensland Athletics Shield Meet) - Good experience for those in sprints, jumps, and hurdles (90m hurdles).
• 9-12 March (Queensland State Titles) - All events available spread out across 2 evenings (Thursday and Friday), and Saturday and Sunday (contact Mr Richard Graham for a draft for Queensland Junior Championships).

These meets are self-funded and athletes can join as a Base member ($12.00) plus a per-meet fee ($25.00) if you want. Mr Martin can provide more details if you want to discuss with him as he has given this pathway to many current representative athletes in our squad who have gone on to represent Met North, Queensland and more.

If any further questions please contact myself on grahamr@marash.qld.edu.au

Talk about starting the year with a bang...

Joel Drew (Year 11) continues to set new benchmarks. Running at the Sally Pearson Shield meet over the weekend, Joel continued his outstanding form from the 2022 season. It was is a fantastic start to his 2023 Track and Field season, he set a new College record in the 110m Opens Hurdles with a time of 14.34 seconds, breaking the previous record held by Tom Guest since 2009. Well done Joel!!!... and well done Tom.

Intermediate Boys - National School Challenge Final Winners

Tennis (Mr Andrew Ward - Head Coach)

Welcome back to tennis and what a fantastic start to the year so far.

In Week 1, we held free tennis afternoons for all students to come and try our fantastic sport. What a fantastic turnout and we got to see a lot of new talent, especially Year 5 proving to be a hit. Many old faces too getting back into hitting and preparing for the start of the coaching term.

Week 2 will see the start of all coaching classes and we will also see the beginning of fixtures on a Wednesday and a Friday afternoon. More about fixtures further on in this article.

Australian Open, how great was that to watch?  I personally got to see it down at Melbourne Park during a coaching course in Week 2 of the Open, and the TV does not do justice to the way these professional athletes hit the ball. The coaching that has gone into getting these players to the level that they are at, is incredible. 

We personally as coaches are always looking for the next superstar, but it does not happen overnight. It takes dedication, perseverance, love of the game and a great team of coaches to develop each student. Players who make it at tennis will show resilience ( if you have been put down in a team ) and a never say die attitude. They don’t get upset if they don’t make the ”A team.” They will never let someone say they can’t make it or you’re not good enough. These players block out the noise around them and work hard, that is why they are the best because they did not listen to negative comments along the way and just believed they can make it. That they belong amongst top players. This was perfectly said in a speech by Novak Djokovic after winning his 10th Australian Open champion. 

MCA Tennis wants to find our next superstar and we have many who have stuck with the squad system and have improved out of sight. I would like each week to mention some boys and commend them for working hard and putting the time into developing their game under the guidance of myself and my team to produce what we hope will be the next generation of dominating AIC players for Marist College. I am hoping that some may go even further and live a dream of becoming a Professional tennis player if they choose to do so. Not a bad job. 

I would like to acknowledge these fine young men. Future leaders of our sport. Year 8.

Indy Headrick Year 8, Ryan Mendes Year 8, Carter Gibson Year 8, Jeremy Harvey Year 8. Congratulations boys you have all improved through hard work and dedication to improving.

MCA Tennis welcomes our newest members to the coaching staff here at Marist. As a community I hope we all make them welcome as much as Callum and I have.

Welcome to our Senior Tennis Coach, Bo Tran. Bo has decided to come to Marist after seeing what we have created here with our coaching programs here at Marist.

A quick Bio of his achievements include:

• School Head Coach of Villanova College and Brigidine College 
• Pro Tour Coaching 
• ATP 
• WTA
• ITF JUNIOR 
• Over 30 years of Tennis Coaching 
• Club Professional Coach

Bo believes that “Coaching to me is all about the opportunity to INSPIRE others to step into their GREATNESS”.

I would also like to welcome, Liam Webb to our coaching ranks. Liam has been employed as a trainee coach and will develop his coaching under the guidance of myself and also the whole team. Liam was a fantastic Captain of our successful 1st team last year and will help to inspire boys to reach their goals through his leadership and mentoring as an ex-player and someone who has taken the journey that they are on now.

Wet weather program for all squad classes.

This year tennis squad sessions will always be on regardless of the weather. Students are to meet at the mezzanine level of the Champagnat Centre. We have a series of activities tennis specific, so attendance is compulsory.

Fixtures

We are holding 3 divisions this term.

Friday 3:30-5:30pm for Division 2 and 3.

Wednesday 4:30-6:30pm for Division 1.

We have trials on both these days for anyone interested just come along and have a hit.

This is free for all squad members. $50 for the term for non-squad members.

Coaching

We have limited positions left if any student was thinking of joining our group or squad classes. Once full we will close all new enrolments for this term, so please get in quick to avoid disappointment if you are wanting coaching this term.

For any information relating to Tennis please contact us at: MCATennis@marash.qld.edu.au or call Andrew Ward on 0437 449 523.