EXCEL Sports Program 

Year 7 EXCEL Sport Futsal Titles

On Wednesday 1st May the Year 7 EXCEL Sport class entered two girls’ teams and two boys’ teams in the School Futsal Titles held at Monash University Clayton. This is always a tough competition against schools that have been training for this event since the start of the year and are comprised of elite soccer players. It was a steep learning curve for the Patterson River Secondary College students in resilience, perseverance and rapid skill development. Mr. Leith and I were extremely proud of the effort shown by all the students to continue to compete throughout the day and watch them grow as soccer players. The two boys’ teams played off for the 4th placed group game where the White team defeated the Navy team 3-0. The two girls’ teams played 4 x 20-minute games throughout the pool round robin and the Navy team finished second in the pool overall. This meant they played in the grand final against Sirius College who had previously beaten us twice throughout the day. It was an outstanding effort by the girls to win the final 2-0 in a tough contest and be crowned East Melbourne School Futsal Titles 13 Girls Champions. Well done to Abigail B, Evie B, Ari D, Eleanor J, Ayla O and Lily Z. Another congratulations to Lenny G and Harrison D who were selected to represent Victoria at the 2024 National School Futsal Championships in Brisbane in September by the State selectors watching the event. Thank you to Mr. Leith for your assistance. A fantastic day. 

Year 8 EXCEL Sport 3 x 3 Basketball State Qualifying Day

The Year 8 EXCEL Sport Class attended the Junior 3x3 Basketball Qualifying Day at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Tuesday 26th March. Patterson River Secondary College entered 3 male and 3 female teams in the Division 2 Competition. Each team played between four to five 12-minute games in the preliminary rounds. This carnival is always a challenging day for the EXCEL Sport Program as the competition at this level is extremely strong from many basketball academies throughout Melbourne. I was extremely proud of the Patterson River Secondary College students who played competitively and improved collectively with each game. The Patterson River Secondary College Boys 1 team (Tait W, Noah H, Jack S and Zachary T) were undefeated all day and progressed through to the Division 2 grand final against SMBG. It was a tightly contested game with exceptional basketball played by both teams. The boys won 17-9 and qualified for the 3XCup Secondary Under 15 State Championships in April at the State Basketball Centre. The Patterson River Secondary College Boys 2 team (Zayden K, Brooklyn G, Cuan R, and Eli M) played in a quarter-final match but unfortunately the result did not go our way and we lost 4-10. The Patterson River Secondary College 1 Girls team (Giaan P, Holly RV, Nikita J and Mali R) played in the grand final against CREST Girls Orange who had been undefeated to this point. This was an amazing contest where Patterson River Secondary College Girls were down earlier but fought back to win the grand final 9-7 and also qualifying in a strong position for the 3XCup Secondary Under 15 State Championships in April. Well done to the whole class. Thank you to Mr Leith for your assistance on the day. 

Year 8 EXCEL Sport 3 x 3 Basketball Junior State Championship

On Monday 22nd April, 2 teams from the Year 8 EXCEL Sport class that had previously qualified for the 3x3 Basketball State Championships competed at the State Basketball Centre in the Division 2 competition against the 12 best schools in Victoria. The Boys Patterson River Secondary College 1 team (Noah H, Jack S, Zachary T and Tait W) played 5 games in Pool B and finished 2nd after winning 4 out of 5 games. They played all the way through to the State Bronze Medal match where unfortunately they lost and finished 4th in the State in the Division 2 competition. The Girls Patterson River Secondary College 1 team (Nikita J, Giaan P, Mali R and Holly RV) played 5 games in Pool A and finished 1st after also winning 4 out of 5 games. The girls won through to the grand final and took a strong lead early against Christian College and won the game 11-8 to be crowned the State champions in the Division 2 competition. A fantastic effort by both teams against tough competition. Thank you to Zinger K and Molly S for volunteering to score and assistant coach and the parents that came along to support the students.  

Ms. Allan