Co-curricular - Senior Sport

Senior School summer sports trials are well underway. There has been an overwhelming number of boys who have registered their interest to play a summer sport for the 2020/2021 Summer Season.

Please note that the College can only cater for a certain number of teams due to the competition, facilities and team numbers. This overwhelming number of students who have signed-up across the various sports unfortunately poses a problem. Regrettably, on this occasion some students will miss out on selection in a team across various age groups in Basketball and Baseball.

Although not all students and parents will agree with selection decisions made during trials, I cannot emphasise enough that the trial process is a fair, transparent and effective way of grading players into the appropriate team. If you feel the selection is not correct, this is not an injustice, but a matter of opinion. How we choose to react is important.

The current COVID-19 climate continues to impact the schedule of season draws for school sports programs. Due to the geographical location of some ISA schools, they have been forced to withdraw from participating in Term 4 competition. At this point in time, the College has received draft versions of the ISA Cricket and Basketball draws for Term 4 only. It is hopeful that some of these regional schools may re-enter the competition at the beginning of next year. In the meantime, next term will see ISA fixtures commence on Saturday 24 October and conclude after Saturday 28 November.

We are still waiting to hear from the NDJCA and RHBL competition managers regarding their season draws. Please stay tuned.

Anthony Calavassy

Head of Secondary Sport

The 2020 Age Athletics Championship – Cancelled

Sadly, due to the lack of sufficient entries, the Age Championships scheduled for this Saturday have been cancelled. I am particularly disappointed for the Year 12 boys who registered to participate in reasonably healthy numbers. That said, we now look ahead to March next year when hopefully we can run a regular House and Age Athletics Championships.

Swimming Sign-ups

Boys and their parents are advised that Swimming Squad sign-ups will be held on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 September during the first half of lunch in the Hickey driveway. All parents and boys are to ensure that discussion takes place at home prior to a boy registering his name and intention to swim for the College.

New Basketball Strips and Hiring

A reminder that boys playing Basketball in the Senior School this Summer will be hiring their singlets as of the commencement of Term 4. A charge of $20.00 will go on a student’s Term 1 fee account. The singlet is to be returned (clean) to the coach at the end of the season. Failure to return the singlet will result in parents having to replace the missing singlet in time for the following season. Please note that boys are still expected to purchase their own playing shorts and socks.

Given the new playing strip is quite similar in design to the current one, boys will be able to use their current playing shorts in season 2020-21 if they would like to do so. All boys playing Basketball will be expected to wear the new shorts from the commencement of season 2021-22.

Junior School boys will be commence wearing the new strip as of Term 1 2021 with a similar hiring system in place.

Summer Sports Trials - Clarification of Selection Process

It is also important to note that the College expects every student to play in their correct age group. The correct age grouping is often determined by the association running a competition. For example, boys playing Basketball in the ISA competition are advised that their age group is determined by how old they on the 31 December of this year. Therefore, if a boy is 14 on that date, he plays in the 14’s and not the 15’s age group. The current practise at St Patrick’s is that a boy plays in his age group or the First’s and ordinarily, the only exception to this is when a player weighs down in Rugby. On rare occasions, boys may be invited to play up an age group if we are short of numbers but not before the College receives parental approval.

As many would be aware, the Senior School Summer Sports Trials have commenced. In order to assist parents and boys, particularly those new to the Senior School, I share the following procedures the College has in place around the selection of boys to specific teams.

It should be noted that the aim of the College’s sport program is to provide our students with an opportunity to participate in meaningful sporting activities that do much to supplement the holistic educational experience St Patrick’s offers its young men. Involvement in the sports program enables our students to experience and strengthen their sense of camaraderie, competition, teamwork, good sportsmanship and school pride while also providing pathways for those seeking higher representative honours. It also enables our boys to extend their networking to include boys from other privileged schools which in time can bring numerous and obvious benefits to them once their school days have concluded.

It is important to note that these selections are for one week only and should not be seen as a definite placement for the entire season.

In terms of the trial process, ordinarily:

Boys have the opportunity to participate in drills and play internal trial matches on at least two occasions prior to being put into various pools based on their performances to date.
At this point, trials continue whereupon, coaches are then in a better position to see how boys perform in “a like for like” trial situation. It is often the case that some boys will then be moved from a higher graded pool to a lower graded pool and vice versa.
The reality is that it will often take up to three rounds of Saturday fixtures for coaches to be confident that they have arrived upon an accurately graded team. Notwithstanding that, the College encourages promotion and demotion based on attitude and performance throughout the season. Coaches are informed that they are to regularly liaise with other coaches from their age group in order to ensure that this occurs where and when it is required.
Parents should also note that coaches are instructed not to take into account what team/s boys played in the previous year including, outside clubs. The only exception to this is for those boys who are injured at the time of trials and as such will be placed in a team one grade down from the previous year when they are fit enough to resume. The relevant coach will then make a determination as to whether or not that boy should be recommended for promotion or demotion. In essence, selection to a team is based on what is witnessed during the course of this season thus enabling those who have worked hard on their game during the off-season and/or improved their fitness to shine.

I would also ask parents to keep in mind that boys are placed in relevant age groups and as such we have a blending of Year groups. It is not uncommon for Year 7 boys who have played in the higher grades in the Junior School to now be contesting for a position with boys in Year 8 who are still in the 13’s age group.

Having lived the experience for the past 23 years, I would strongly urge parents and boys to be patient with the process given the time constraints that school sport encounters. Boys will be graded correctly according to the consensus of all coaches in each age group and ultimately the “the cream always floats to the top”.

Please feel free to contact either Mr Calavassy, Mr Locke, Mr Dunne or me by email or phone if you have any queries and please note that boys taking part in Cricket, Basketball, Swimming or Baseball will soon be issued letters outlining relevant expectations.

Steve Fochesato

Director of Co-curricular

Basketball Season 2020 – Skill Development Camps

The Basketball season is well and truly underway with trials commencing this week. The number of students who have signed up for the season is most pleasing and in time, I hope the numbers continue to grow as we find the facilities to accommodate such growth. The Basketball fraternity has been working very closely with a number of outside providers in order to better prepare our boys for the season ahead. One such provider, “Number 1 Draft Pick Basketball” has agreed to run a series of Basketball Camps during the upcoming holidays for our students only in the College Gymnasium. The links below should provide parents and boys with all the information needed prior to signing up for the camps. Please click on the link of the relevant age group for more information:

Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October – Ages 10 to 14

Tuesday 6 to Wednesday 7 October – Ages 15 to 17

These Basketball Camps are designed to teach players the Game Skills for Game Results and now is the perfect time for boys to start executing their skills. While the camps focus on teaching the fundamentals of the game in a fun, safe and competitive environment, they are also designed to teach boys the values and skills they need to be a better Basketball player. Players acquire this appreciation through the use of drill and station work along with full court games. Boys are invited to work out with the new First V Coaches, Roderick Proctor and Danny Kordahi, along with other professional coaching staff.

Please note that no student or parents within the College’s Basketball fraternity should feel obliged to register for the camps and furthermore, these camps will not be treated as trials for team selections.

Chadia El-Edelbi

MIC Basketball