Student Achievement

Polocrosse Event - Jack and Ben - Year 10

During the first week of Term 3, we represented our country proudly in the 1st U16 Australian Polocrosse Team. If you don’t know what Polocrosse is, basically it’s a combination between Polo (the game where you hit a ball with a mallet on horses) and Lacrosse. It is played in time segments called chukkas (like a quarter) and with a netted racquet on the back of a horse. Teams contain 6 players in a mixed side, with 3 boys and 3 girls each called a section, with a coach and manager operating from the sidelines. Sections alternate on and off the field each chukka over the entire game. Normally games are played in 4x8 style, 4 chukkas each 8 minutes long, however at Australian level 6x6 are played which makes a much longer and more intense game. 

Polocrosse has three positions the 1 (Goal Scorer), 2 (Midfield Defender) and 3 (Goal Defender). We played both a 2 and 3 position over the weekend and played extraordinarily well against teams from other Australian states, as well as international teams such as the US and the UK. We both travelled over 800km down to Albury near the border of Victoria, driving almost 12 hours straight with truck and caravan to compete over five days of practise, coaching, game analysis, and gameplay. We also endured some wet weather and boggy conditions, but managed to prevail in each strenuous game facing tough opponents and winning in each one. In the first game, we won against a tougher team 14-11 and the second game played later in the afternoon winning 25-6. During some of our coaching sessions we worked on sports phycology and game mindsets with AFL stars and team captains Chris Hyde and Anthony Miles and trained with countless world cup players to enhance our racquet skills, game strategy and tactics. Overall, the week was a massive success and an enormous achievement for both of us!

By Jack D and Ben C