Sport & Co-Curricular

Senior Co-Curricular Sports

Term 3 Information:

On Saturday 9th September we had two senior teams compete in the FISAF National Aerobics Championships held in the Gold Coast. On a national level, our girls were wonderful ambassadors for Loreto, representing their teams, college and parents with pride and this was reinforced by FISAF when they were awarded the FISAF School Stream Spirit and Sportsmanship Award for 2023.

All teams performed strongly in their respective divisions against a highly competitive field from interstate and it was wonderful to see all their hard work rewarded with a silver and bronze medal.

• LC Amplify 2nd Place Nationally: Pre-Choregraphed Teams Years 7-12 Phase 2 – Molly McEwin, Poppy Woods, Ruby Simister, Georgia Mastrantuone, Harper Hamdorf, Zara Wucsko and Teresa Caruso. 
• LC Snap 3rd Place Nationally: Pre-Choregraphed Teams Years 7-9 Phase 1 – Harriet Fleer, Emily Hehir, Olivia Bellon, Olivia Tilley, Milla Wilson, Eugenie Anderson, Lailah Bryant, Tallulah Thompson and Grace McCabe.

The girls should be very proud of their achievements throughout the year and their outstanding performances at the National Championships.

We would like to acknowledge and thank our aerobics coaches for their instruction and guidance - Kira, Nicole, Gina, Ruby and Jasmyn, and our parents who have given so much of their time to support their daughters throughout the year, ensuring that they get to early morning trainings and performances. Also, a big thank you to staff member Tennille Cobb who supported the girls at the FISAF National Championships. 

Loreto Hockey 2023

For the first time in years Loreto had a hockey team, a mix of seasoned and new players from a range of year levels. 

A lot was unknown about the year, and the girls began with a solid win in their first game, with success to follow them through out the season with only one loss at the end. 

The senior players (Zoe, Fenella, Lucy, Tilda, Aviril & Marissa) were excellent mentors for the beginner players, and the team quickly developed as individuals began to understand the game and improve exponentially . Georgia, Izzy, and Grace developed quickly to become key players in a developing squad; the last half of the season then saw Scarlett, Annie, Elle & Rose really start to influence their part of the field. 

Each week the team grew and learnt from the each other and players began to show leadership and ownership of ‘the team’. As coaches this is rare to see in such a diverse and young team, well done girls.

A thank you must go the parents for the road trips and early mornings. A special mention to Freja and the Cath’s for the Boarding taxi service most weeks, incredible!

Thanks for the experience, your coaches.

Stewart, Constance & Arabella.

Term 4 Information: 

Thank you for completing the Term 4 Sports Nomination Form for Years 7-11.  Based on the nominations received, we have submitted teams to SACSSGSA.  

We have nearly finalised teams and coaches and hope to email this information, along with training times in Week 10.  We will not have the competition times and venues until just before the games commence on the 21 October.

2023 Term 4 Sport Nominations Received Years 7-11

Student Achievements:

Congratulations to Emily Laing who has also been selected in the South Australian 17&U Girls Water Polo Team, competing at the National State Championships being held in Canberra 24th September though to the 29th of September. We wish her all the best for this competition.

Sports Award Dinner:

On Wednesday 20 September we will be hosting our Sports Award Evening to acknowledge the sporting success of individual students in Years 7-12. The awards that will be presented include:

• MVP Certificate – this award is chosen by the coach and recognises a player’s outstanding contribution to the growth of her team and the positive determination she displayed at training and matches throughout the season. We acknowledge her exceptional commitment to her team and Loreto College.
• Best & Fairest Medal – this award is given to one student per team who received the most votes. The votes were awarded after each game to the players who performed the best and showed good sportsmanship.
• Best & Fairest Trophy – this award is given to one student in Years 10-12 and one student in Years 7-9 who has received the most votes in their chosen sport.  The votes were awarded after each game to the players who performed the best and showed good sportsmanship.
• Sport Badge – this award is given to students who have played a sport for a minimum of 4 years.
• State Level Representation Award – this award is presented to students who have achieved high sporting success and represented the state in their chosen sport.

Those who are receiving an award, would have received an email on Monday 4 September. 

If you have any questions about co-curricular sport, please contact me on Sophie.Hage@loreto.sa.edu.au

Ms Sophie Hage

Leader of Sport and Sport Performance

Junior Sports News

Finals in Junior Sport?

How competitive should junior sport be?

Should there be scores kept, premiership tables maintained and finals played? Or should it just be purely about fun and participation with the competitive elements removed? What is the right age to introduce young sports people to the full gamut of competition?

There doesn’t seem to be a universally agreed upon timeline to introduce competition to young athletes. Each sport and each association seem to have a different threshold and a different philosophy regarding the introduction of competition.

Some schools and sports are vehemently against grading players in primary school age groups. Whereas in chess or tennis it is accepted that your school’s No 1 seed will play against your opponent’s No 1 seed from the very youngest age groups onwards.

The netball competition we play in has premiership tables and finals for the Year 5/6 age group. Other school netball competitions for the same age group do not. Why is it different?

In sports like aerobics and gymnastics, it is accepted that judges will watch the routines like hawks, ready to pick out errors and mark teams or individuals down. This happens right from the youngest age groups. Only the winners get medals. The rules for adults and very young children don’t seem to differ much in these sports. 

Comparatively our Year 5/6 soccer teams barely keep score (though at the end of each match the players are quite aware of who won). Certainly, the scores aren’t recorded and no premiership table is maintained. For our basketball teams, scores are maintained electronically and you can go back and re-live every point and every foul from the match just played. However, the premiership table function has been disabled and no finals are played.

What is the right age to introduce these elements to young sportspeople? When do you start treating children as mini adults?

At Loreto

We play in a range of competitions and each has a different degree of competitiveness. 

At some point though our young athletes are going to be introduced to competition with all the bells and whistles – scores being kept, results tabled, premiership ladders maintained and finals played. The important thing for our school is to treat these occasions as opportunities for learning and part of our student’s sporting (and life) education.

Learning to cope with pressure, to display sportsmanship, to win with grace and to lose with dignity are important lessons, equally important as learning to pass and catch. As is playing the game in the right spirit, even when (or especially when) there is a prize on the line. 

The Finals Experience

Some of our Year 5/6 netballers had their first introduction to finals competition last weekend. They arrived at the court super-early and were running frantic, excited laps around the grassed area adjacent to the courts 40 minutes before the game started. They were so keyed up that they could barely stand still! Burning off nervous energy. There was a danger that we could have exhausted ourselves before we had even begun! Why were they behaving differently to a normal game?

This was a completely new experience for them and being exposed to this is part of the learning process. A few extra butterflies in the stomach, a bit more difficult to get to sleep the night before, a slightly higher intensity to the game itself, checking the score a bit more often, a few extra family members in attendance… Having to play a game of netball with all these extra pressure elements in the mix. This was something new for them, a life experience, a learning opportunity.

I wonder what they will do before their final this week now that they’ve experienced it once?

The Result

Win, lose or draw, we want to see our players handle themselves with good grace and sportsmanship. Congratulate each other on a great season, acknowledge our opponents and the umpires.

Our three netball teams all had finals wins on the weekend which was exciting for them. Importantly, it was also a chance for those players to demonstrate empathy. As happy as we were, there was an opposition team there who were as disappointed as we were elated.

How will our teams cope if we are to lose one of our upcoming finals? With good sportsmanship and dignity? With tantrums and tears? They may not handle all the possible outcomes perfectly. Resilience is often something that is learned over time. There are so many lessons that can be taken away from these experiences. What is certain is that if they don’t experience it, then they will never learn how to handle it.

By shielding athletes from these experiences in an effort to protect them, you are simply minimising their opportunity for learning.

The role of coaches and parents

On the side lines, coaches and parents play a huge role in helping young athletes handle pressure situations.

Part of the reason that some sports and associations don’t have finals is the behaviour it creates in those off the court rather than due to the pressure placed on the participants themselves.

Sometimes in the pursuit of victory you see coaches abandon the fair play principles they have embraced during the minor round and take on a win-at-all-costs approach. They begin over-playing their biggest, oldest and most talented players. Equal court time for all disappears. Those off the court get frustrated with mistakes, become vocal about umpiring decisions and get too tied up in the result of the game.

These are the “ugly” elements that some feel young athletes should be protected from.

Our coaches and parents play a key role in helping players learn to handle the pressure of finals competition. Often the behaviour of those off-court will influence the behaviour on-court:

• If coaches and parents get openly frustrated at umpiring decisions the players will echo those frustrations.
• If coaches and parents are tense and emotional when the game is on the line, we will pass those anxieties onto the players.
• If coaches and parents groan audibly when a mistake is made the players will become more nervous about making mistakes.

In American high school sport, the approach can be a little… full on. One frustrated high school coach had a fairly blunt message for his assistant coaches and the parents of his players:

“Do not build your happiness around the kid’s athletic performances. If you get in a bad mood because they played bad, take a break from the game. The kids need to have tough performances to learn, not have great performances to make you feel good.”

As coaches and parents:

• If we are calm, the players will be calm
• If we remain positive, the players will too
• If we accept the umpire’s decisions, the players will too
• If we handle wins with grace and losses with dignity, the players will learn to do likewise

Good luck to all our teams who are playing finals this weekend. Don’t forget to have fun!

Aerobics Nationals on the Gold Coast

What an amazing achievement from all our Loreto teams at the FISAF National Championships on Saturday 9th September. 

• LC Amplified - 2nd Pre - Choreographed Teams Year 7–12 Phase 2 
• LC Snap - 3rd Pre-Choreographed Teams Year 7-9 Phase 1 
• LC Illusion - 7th Pre-Choreographed Teams Year 5-6 Phase 2 
• LC Dynamite - 8th Pre-Choreographed Teams Year 5-6 Phase 2 
• LC Thunder - 4th Pre-Choreographed Teams Year 6 Phase 1 

To top it all off we won the Spirit & Sportsmanship award for our continuous show of this at all our FISAF events throughout the year. 

Well done to all teams! The aerobics program is a huge undertaking and many thanks to our coaches Ruby, Steph, Jasmyn, Molly and Poppy for the hours they have invested.

Thanks also to Tennille for looking after the teams and families while they were away!

Touch Football

Loreto took a number of Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 touch football teams along to the Catholic Schools carnival on Greenhill Road last week.

Our teams had a lot of fun, demonstrated excellent teamwork, scored plenty of tries and made several trips to the snack bar.

One of our Year 4 teams won six out of six matches on the Tuesday. There are no “official” records kept for these events, so we went ahead and claimed the premiership! Well done to Loreto’s “Team 10”: April W, Bella L, Charlotte H, Everly W, Grace-Marie H, Hattie B, Isabelle A, Maria Z, Savy Y and Sophie A. 

On the Wednesday the Year 5/6s were in action and Loreto’s “Team 4” also won all their matches. Well done to Alanah-Rose M, Alyssa R, Emma Q, Erin R, Indea S, Juliet S, Matilda C and Sofia S. Premiers! Loreto’s “Team 6” went within a whisker of doing the same, finishing with 5 wins and a tie. Great work Amelia V, Clara L, Gigi G, Kartia M, Lilly J, Olivia J and Olivia K. Our championship team made it through to the bronze medal playoff, going down 1-2 in an exciting game.

Our team coaches each selected a Most Valuable Player from their team. The winners were: Eva P, Savy Y, Maible R, Eliza M, Ella H, Mia F-L, Alanah-Rose M, Dana G, Clara L and Zoe A.

Particular thanks to staff Ms Scott, Ms Zappia and Ms San Miguel for helping to look after the teams. Unfortunately, the organisers didn’t schedule the Team Zappia vs Team San Miguel match up we were hoping for! Next year I’ll include it in our fixture requests.

Netball Finals

Well done to Loreto’s Sub Junior 4 netball team who won a nail-biting knockout semi final against East Adelaide on Saturday.

With a few players away with aerobics nationals coach Chetine was delighted to have Ella and Minny filling in from the Sub Junior 7 Gold team. Both played great games!

It was a classic, tense final that seesawed all game with numerous lead changes throughout. At three quarter time scores were tied 8-8 but we fell three goals behind early in the 4th quarter.

Things were looking bleak but when the going gets tough…

In the desperate final minutes, our circle defenders Lily and Giselle took control and won some key battles. Emerson pulled off a series of intercepts in the midcourt. Sophie was everywhere, running from circle to circle in a tireless display at centre. Ella started feeding Mia and Lola with some precise passes into the circle. Slowly we begun to reel them in.

A crucial loose ball in the defensive third bounced between Giselle and her opponent. As both players scrambled to retrieve it Giselle somehow flicked the ball up over the head of her surprised opponent, ran around her and caught the ball on the other side. Eddie Betts would have been proud of this party trick! We swept the ball down the court and Mia sank a long-range goal to tie things up at 11-11. Momentum: Loreto.

Shooters Mia and Lola had found it difficult to get close to the ring against their taller defenders and were having to take a lot of long-range shots all game. However, suddenly they started finding space near goal. Lola held her nerve to put us in front, then scored another to give us breathing room.

Time! 13-11 Loreto. Phew! East Adelaide had also played a brilliant game and would have been equally deserving winners. We will play St Joseph’s Memorial in the preliminary final next weekend.

In our other finals Loreto’s Sub Junior 3s are straight through to the grand final after a 24-7 win over East Marden. Our Sub Junior 7 Blue team are into next week’s preliminary final after a 25-5 win over St Joseph’s.

Well done to all teams! For most of our players this was their first ever final. There were certainly a few extra nerves and butterflies but our girls remained calm under pressure and can take plenty of confidence into their next match.

Student Achievements

Gymnastics – well done to Sophie Andruchowycz who performed brilliantly at the Junior State Gymnastics Championships recently. Sophie won two medals in her category – a gold for the uneven bars and a bronze for the vault. Congratulations Sophie!

Athletics - Well done to Marnie Sherwell (800m and 1500m), Sofia Spagnoletti (discus), Mia Frearson-Lea (high jump), April Waudby (4 x 100m relay) and Maddison Graves (4 x 100m relay) who all qualified to represent the East Adelaide SAPSASA zone at next Tuesday’s state championships.

Term 4 Sport

Nominations for summer sport close on Monday. The sports available are netball, basketball, volleyball, AFLW, tennis and cricket. You can register via Loreto Connect. Please contact Ben Johnswood if you have any questions at Ben.Johnswood@loreto.sa.edu.au

Mr Ben Johnswood

Sport Coordinator