SSP NEWS

High Performance Camp

WHC took 10 student athletes to a little place called Strath Creek for 3 days, where we stayed at The Village Green. We were fortunate to receive some grant funding to utilise specifically for this experience, covering all costs of transport, accommodation, food and guest speakers.

Over the course of the 3 days, our student-athletes gained so much from the educational sessions, particularly in Performance Psychology delivered by the incredible Simon Lloyd, Nutrition for Performance (Ellie O’Connell), Donna Urquhart’s insights into endurance, pain science and her 1300km of running in Antarctica (Guinness World Record), and the Sport Integrity Australia session – unpacking all things doping control. Of course there was some Physical Activity in their as well, with Strength training, conditioning (running, cycling or ski erg’s) and hiking along the ridge trail (and a very steep hill) at sunrise.

An enriching experience that has supported both the personal and athletic development of our student-athletes.

NBA Rising Stars Invitational

The entire SSP and WHC community is so, so proud of the Senior Boys team who represented our College so incredibly well. We proved that we could match it with the nation’s best emerging basketball programs, reaching the semi-finals of the NBA Rising Stars Invitational Australia Qualifiers in Melbourne last weekend. We were one of eight schools invited to compete in the boys competition, with the winner earning a ticket to the NBA Rising Stars Invitational Finals tournament in Singapore. 

We took a very young team away - we only had two year 12’s and had two year 9’s in our starting five. We were the youngest team there by far. Despite falling to Berwick College in the semi-final, the school who eventually took out the tournament, we finished the weekend with a positive 3-2 record and displayed impressive performances across the entire showcase.

The event was broadcast live on ESPN, well and truly placing us on the world stage.

Well done to everyone involved – both students and coaches, a superb effort!

Team Selection

It is an exciting time for our Specialist Sports Program with over 600 students across the four pillar sports: AFL, Basketball, Netball and Soccer. However, this also creates complexities around team selection for tournaments and competitions. It is simply not possible for all student-athletes to be selected.

Please understand that although student-athletes are a part of the SSP, this does not guarantee automatic entry to any WHC interschool or representative team. Head coaches are responsible for team selection and many factors contribute to this process, including; skill, ability, team dynamics, effort, behaviour and attendance across the entire College.

If any student-athlete’s whole school attendance is below 80%, students will be ineligible to represent WHC. This has been communicated broadly to students and families since the beginning of the year. Please support our processes to engage all student-athletes in their learning at WHC and encourage regular attendance.

We know that non-selection can be difficult for parent-carers, but we thank you for your understanding and support of our program and all student-athletes, whilst we move into a heavy phase of competition over the next three terms.

If you or your child has any concerns about selection or non-selection, we would encourage all of our student-athletes to have direct conversations with their coaches regarding feedback for improvement.

We would also like to remind our parent-carer community, that all sports have multiple coaches and all coaches are responsible for Team Selection – the decision never rests solely with one person. 

Again, thank you for your continued support. We love that your child is apart of our program, and please endeavour to remember the program was established for our student-athletes to reach both their academic and athletic potentials. It is about growth in both learning and sporting pursuits, not who is or isn’t selected for a team.

Specialist Sports Program: Semester 2 Trials

Western Heights College is pleased to announce that trials for the Specialist Sports Program Semester 2 intake will be held this May.

Families are encouraged to review the flyers below for each program and register their child using the QR code or the links provided. Please note that there is a strict registration deadline, and late applications will not be accepted.

Register for trials:

• AFL: Register here – https://compasstix.com/e/8wsjli1nml
• Basketball: Register here – https://compasstix.com/e/coht1zplj1
• Netball: Register here – https://compasstix.com/e/2si8o83ise
• Soccer: Register here – https://compasstix.com/e/i4ah1jl1l7
• Aspiring Athlete Program (AAP): Register here – https://compasstix.com/e/ut5e3dg5nc

Students who register for Soccer, AFL, Netball, or Basketball trials will be added to a Compass event. Parent/guardian consent is required for travel to and from trial venues. Students without consent will not be permitted to participate. All trial participants will travel with current program students.

Important: Students currently in the mainstream program in Year 7 and 8 who are unsuccessful in SSP trials will automatically be registered to attend the AAP trials on June 2. If you do not wish for your child to be included in this process, please notify Cate.

Selection Criteria into the Specialist Sports Program is based on:

• Program numbers and available positions
• Demonstrated athletic skill and ability
• Academic effort
• Attitude and behaviour

• Minimum 90% attendance in mainstream classes

   

For any enquiries, please contact Cate Johnson at Cate.Johnson@education.vic.gov.au.

Netball News week 4

With term two well underway our student athletes are heading into the competitive season with our junior girls Yr 7 & 8 kicking off their SSV campaigns next week and Intermediate Boys on June 2nd.

We also have many student athletes preparing for the upcoming Netball Victoria Association Championship competition to be held next weekend, we wish all players all the very best in this event which brings together representative players from all the associations/leagues across Victoria. This is also a scouting event on the Netball Victoria High Performance Pathway.

A big congratulations to Milla Eldredge yr 8 who has been selected as 1 of 30 players from within her region to progress and be TID’d to the Netball Victoria Talent Academy Trials for Central West a fantastic effort Milla well done.

We also had year 7 students Avery Pulepule, Naea Jobe and Aurah Maaka participating in the recent 12 girls SSV Central West trials. Congratulations to Avery who will progress to the next stage of these trials in June.

We also have Jack TePaa Yr 9 currently training with the Victorian 15 and under Boys SSV Team in preparation for his upcoming National Championships. We hear that Jack is training the house down, well done on your progress Jack!!!

Over the past couple of months the Specialist Netball Program has engaged with local community associations welcoming in representative players from Geelong Central Netball Association U11, U13, U15 sides and also representative players from AFL Barwon in the Geelong FNL U13, U15 sides and also the Bellarine FNL U13, U15 sides. It was great to have top talent in Geelong in and to experience High Performance Modules and knowledge here at WHC and our High Performance Training Environment, all important parts of the Netball Victoria High Performance pathway.

On Monday we had Anastasia Typou an Australian Taekwondo representative come and present to our year 10 cohort as part of the Australian Institute of Sport Black Dog mental health programme and workshop. Anastasia was fantastic in giving experiences of her own career as a student athlete, challenges and also strategies that have helped her along the way. Students were able to engage with her in Q&A and a lot was achieved in this session.