Sport

Term 2 Sport

Term 2 has been another very successful one for St Patrick's College in Sport. We have had boys represent the school in both the BAS and ACC competitions. Some of the highlights include:

• Winning our way through to our BAS Football Grand Final

• Winning our way through to our second straight ACC Soccer Grand Final

• Junior Football Premiers SPC White who went through the season undefeated

• Year 2 of the Liam Duggan Football Academy for both the Junior and Intermediate levels

• BAS Athletics overall Male Premiers

• SPC White Intermediate football team won their competition

Thank you to all of the boys who represented the school in Term 2. I have been extremely proud of the sportsmanship displayed by the students of St Patrick’s College. Whether our teams win, lose or draw, we always play the right way.

Also, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the staff that have coached and managed teams. Your knowledge, skill and organisation has been amazing for our boys and for our sport program, I can’t thank you enough. We still need a number of coaches for next term, so if there are any staff that would like to coach/manage a team, please reach out to myself.

ACC Soccer

First XI Grand Final: SPC v De La Salle 

The SPC First XI Soccer team travelled to the Veneto Club in Bulleen on Wednesday, 25 June to compete in their second ACC Grand Final in as many years. After last year’s resounding loss at the final hurdle, the boys were eager to right past wrongs. What ensued was a scintillating 11-goal end-to-end thriller against De La Salle which will go down as one of the greatest games of football played in the St Pat’s College Green-and-Blue. 

The first half saw St Pat’s fire home within three minutes of play, with a link-up between Ollie Behrens and Tate Koleski foreshadowing some of what these two talented Year 11's can bring to the squad next year as seniors. De La Salle responded with aplomb, however, scoring two goals in quick succession and leaving St Pat's stunned and on the back foot. It took a foul on Koleski in the box, and the resulting penalty converted by Josh Remington to level the scores once again. 

Again, De La Salle was on the front foot however, scoring another two goals in quick succession, as the game looked in danger of turning into a blow-out. Remington through sheer determination would not allow that, however, as a rocket from range caught their keeper out and put the score back within reach. Within reach was all Behrens needed to outwit the opposing full-back and level the scores once more at 4-4 before half time. 

The second half saw much more measured defensive performances from both sides—with Liam McEldrew and Cooper Neil combining to repel attack after attack, and Ryan Walker battling in the midfield as the game wore on. Eventually it was a ball from Lenny Ward to find Behrens for his second goal which propelled St Pat’s into the lead and with glory in their sights. Again, rugged defensive performances denied De La Salle as they threw caution to the wind (and rain, and hail) to try and equalise. Luis Maldonado made two exceptional saves, and it seemed truly not to be De La Salle’s day. 

In the end, however, tragedy struck for St Pat’s, as a free-kick with two minutes to go in the game was curled into the top corner—unsaveable and unsympathetic—to tie the game at 5-5 and take the final to extra-time. Exhausted, the boys battled on, but it was not to be their day, and De La Salle scored once again to win after over 100 minutes of play, with a final score of 6-5. 

While it is difficult to see the silver lining to a season which ends with such a sour taste, the First XI boys came closer than ever in the school’s history to securing an ACC soccer title and can hold their heads up high for how they represented the school. From the most relentless of goal scorers, to the most dogged of midfielders, to the most stalwart of defenders, to the boys who turned up week after week to training and matches to play smaller but vital roles in the team—all the boys contributed to what has objectively been an exceptional season. While the ending was not what we desired, it doesn’t cancel out the joy of the moments spent fighting and winning together and gives us plenty to build on as we chase that ultimate goal which has only temporarily eluded us.

Semester 1 Soccer Wrap

This semester has seen a significant increase in attendance within the soccer programs at St Patrick's College. Within Term 1, another LFC International Academy class commenced with 18 Year 9s participating in a full semester elective class. 

In Term 2 our after-school soccer programs commenced with ACC senior soccer and BAS intermediates both being played every Wednesday. We also saw the Liverpool FC International Academy Player Development Program or PDP start under the guidance of Jordan Verbeek with support from Sean Weigal. 

With the great help of our coaches in all aspects of our prorgams, including our SPC soccer program coaches; James Russell, Adele Aykens, Will Cousens and Pietro Angeli, our boys are in great hands. 

Our ACC senior boys have been phenomenal and carried great form into their ACC final, while our intermediates have managed to continue display a great commitment to the program allowing us for the first time to include two teams within the age group. 

Thank you to all students involved this semester within our soccer program and we all thank our coaches for their time and dedication to the cause.

BAS Badminton

A Grade SPC-Loreto Mixed Team

In what can only be described as a momentous day for shuttlecock supremacy, the combined St Patrick’s College and Loreto A Grade Badminton team claimed the prestigious BAS title with a spirited four sets to two-victory over Ballarat Clarendon College at Ken Kay Stadium.

In classic Ballarat style, the weather was brisk enough to require two layers and a thermos, but that did little to cool the fierce determination of our boys—Paddy Casey, Kayden Lin and George Muller—who played with precision, poise and just the right amount of badminton bravado.

It has long been said (mostly by us) that Badminton is the King of Sports, and yesterday our team wore that crown with pride. The Grand Final capped off a highly competitive Term 2 season, where the boys consistently impressed with their commitment and skill.

Our journey to Ken Kay this week, packed into an SPC minibus, was a mix of nervous energy, tactical discussion, and—crucially—a motivational peptalk that we’re fairly sure gave the boys the psychological edge over our well-dressed and well-coached neighbours from across Wanliss Rd.

After the final point was won, Paddy Casey stepped up to accept the trophy on behalf of the team, delivering a gracious speech that included heartfelt thanks to the SPC coaching staff and an exaggerated nod to the “tremendous influence” of our leadership (we assume this was meant humorously, but we’ll take credit, nonetheless.)

Thanks also to Jason Lappin, Simon Dwyer and Paddy O'Brien for ensuring our transport, equipment and all other manner of admin and organisation was set and ready to go each week. 

Please join us in congratulating Paddy, Kayden and George when you see them around the College. They represented the green, white and blue with class and conviction and have firmly cemented their legacy as Kings of the Court. 

- Joshua Morris & Brett Hendrickson

SPC Lap of the Lake

On Friday, 13 June we held our annual Lap of the Lake in beautiful sunny conditions. All of Year 7-9 were required to run, and students from Year 10-12 could sign up to compete. There was some fast racing across all age groups and a record was broken by impressive Year 7 athlete Archer Spackman, who shattered Harry Sharp’s record from 2016 (21.32) with a run of 20.56. Well done, Archer!

Congratulations to Nunan House, which was declared the winning house ahead of Galvin, Ryan and Keniry, and to our Year Level Champions listed below.

Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to the following athletes who represented St Patrick’s College at the recent Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships, in Bundoora, Melbourne. A special congratulations to Ollie Ryan, who just missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth place, but ran the same time as third place and only five seconds behind first place. A tight finish in this race where the top seven runners were separated by just 10 seconds. Ollie has qualified for the Australian Cross Country Championships to be held in Victoria Park, Ballarat, on Saturday, 23 August. Good luck Ollie!

Term 3 Sport

Term 3 is another very busy term at SPC. The boys still have an opportunity to sign up for sports. Just check your email and open the sign-up email sent by Mr Dwyer and follow the links. 

Communication

The best form of communication we have with parent/guardians is via the Parent Access Module (PAM). Students require permission to participate in all sport. Parent/guardians will receive the information through a PAM activity permission. Please ensure that you read the information prior to giving permission and that you also talk to students about the information. 

The daily messages are one of the best ways we can distribute information to students about sports that are on offer and where sign-up meetings will be held. Students should check the daily messages regularly.

Once students have signed up for a sport, we will be adding them into a MS Teams group where they can communicate directly with their coach. Students must communicate with their coach if they are unavailable for a match so we can find a replacement to ensure we have a full team for each match.

If students are unsure of how to sign up for a sport or want more information, they can visit sports staff in the gymnasium. 

SPC Sport Uniform

All sport uniforms can be purchased at Dobsons Uniform Shop, located in Mair St, Ballarat. Students need to ensure they are in the correct uniform to participate in Sport. We have a fantastic uniform, and students should wear the Green, White and Blue with pride. 

The general sport uniform is the navy blue polo top, navy shorts and white socks. Certain sports will require very specific clothing e.g. 1st XI Cricketers require SPC Whites, SPC cricket shirt and SPC cricket cap. Students should check with their coach as to what is required. Also remember to wear sunscreen at all times.

I wish all students and coaches the best in 2025. Always play the game in the right spirit, wear the correct uniform and respect the facilities, home and away. St Patrick’s College is steeped in sporting tradition and 2024 was an historic year for Sport at SPC. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me (jlappin@stpats.vic.edu.au) or our Sports Administrator Mr Simon Dwyer (sdwyer@stpats.vic.edu.au) at the College with any questions.