Co-Curricular - Junior Sport Stage 3
Well, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This Saturday concludes the winter sport season for the Junior School. There will be no further training for winter sport after Saturday 8 August. The exceptions being for those in the Athletics Squad, Debating and Junior School Justice Group. Training for these groups will continue as usual.
Over the past 10 days of the Commonwealth Games, the Australian athletes have flushed, winning 70 Gold, 45 Silver, and 56 Bronze (171 Total). An outstanding achievement and one that exceeded the teams’ goals and expectations. In amongst the athletes was a small contingent of St Patrick’s Old Boys:
Se-Bom Lee who competed in the swimming events, coming fourth in the 200m Backstroke final alongside appearances in the 200m Butterfly and his signature 400m Individual Medley.
Paul Trainor who competed in Boxing, 80kg class. Fighting well, Paul won bronze for Australia.
Chris Ius member of the gold-winning Men’s 4 x 100m Relay team. Chris ran in the heats of Relay, before the team won gold.
It is great to see so many old boys excelling in their chosen sporting fields. I trust that the boys in the Junior School take inspiration from our Old Boys who are currently representing their country and use it to motivate themselves and their teams for the final game of the winter season.
When speaking to coaches across the codes, they all have examples of great performances, individual brilliance, disappointing results and comebacks and good sportsmanship. However, one example rings true across every team in the Junior School this winter - and that is development. Each coach has observed the positive development their team has made throughout the season. They site great changes from the first game to now. They have noticed that their teams have gelled together, work hard for each other and the skill level has improved. In some cases, from teams that had very little idea about their games, to ones that now how strong player IQ and technical ability. This is the cornerstone of a great program.
With this in mind, I trust that all teams afford themselves the opportunity to showcase this development and put their best performance out on the field this weekend. This way, no matter if we win, lose or draw we can walk off the field with our heads held high and be proud of our efforts, both in the game and for the season.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Year 6 students all the best for their final game of winter sport for the Junior School. I hope that you have made many memories over your winter seasons and strengthened your friendships. May this weekend be a celebration of all the great opportunities that sport can give us.
Wishing all our teams the best for this weekend of games.
John Locke
Head of Co-curricular Stage 3