Sport News

Last week I started outlining the minor changes that we will be making in the sports department that we hope will make really positive changes to how we plan, organise, communicate, develop and prepare boys for games. As I said last week, there are a lot of positive elements of the Marist sport program, there is a history of success, a culture of winning, a strong belief in the value of sport within the entire community and a lot of passionate staff, parents and Old Boys who work very hard for their programs and the college to help the boys. What we most certainly do not want to do is lose any of those or the many other good things about what we do already.

Key Performance Indicators

We will have three key performance indicators that we will use to assess how we are going as a program. Please note these are separate to the Marist Sports Values, something that is being developed behind the scenes and will be shared with the community, probably early in 2023. All three KPIs are equally important as the others, while competitive success is important it is only equal to the other two indicators.

Performance

We set out every year to win every match and every competition we play in. That will never change, but what is moveable is the level of performance we expect from our programs relative to where we are as a college. These will be changeable over time and are based on current performance, and are aspirational and achievable for us. It is our aim within our AIC sport and activities competitions that every first team will finish in the top 3 every year, and will win a premiership or championship at least once every three years. It is our goal to finish in the top two of every aggregate competition in every sport and activity, and it is our aim to be the number one AIC school each year.

Life Long Love

Co-curricular activities are just that, co-, working alongside. They are not compulsory, and are optional for boys. It is the stated aim of each of our activities that we want to build a genuine love of the activity within all the boys who participate that sport or activity. Now not every boy is going to love every sport, but if a boy choses to play a sport it is within our decision making and thinking that the activity should be challenging, rewarding, engaging and beneficial for him. Our aim is that boys will graduate with a love of their sport, fostered by Marist College Ashgrove, that they take into their lives as men. That may be continuing to play, to coach or referee, or just to stay engaged and interested with that activity. One of the best measures of the success of this is the number of boys who return to coach or officiate the activity once they graduate.

Life Skills

We are in the education business. Sport and co-curricular life in general plays a vital part in the holistic education of boys. While the core business is the academic life of the college, it is vital that boys are developing into men of good character, able to make positive contributions to society as well-adjusted young men, with healthy relationships, a strong appreciation of the value of exercise and well-being. Through sport and activities boys are exposed to opportunities to develop as young men, and although this is far from the extensive list, here are some of the ways the co-curricular life can benefit boys. We set goals for ourselves, we work towards achieving them, sometimes we do, sometimes we do not, lessons here are also in how we accept the outcome, how respectful we are in victory and defeat. We select teams, the boys do not. This exposes us to groups (teams) where we may not get along with everyone. The greater good, the success of the team, provides an opportunity for boys to grow in their acceptance of others and tolerance of those they may disagree with. In sport, like in life, we deal with adversity. In sport it could be being benched, dropped from a team, receiving a perceived poor officiating decision or having to make a choice that we do not want to make like committing to training on a cold wet morning. The growth here is how we accept these decisions and maintain our discipline and composure, as we will need to do in life. 

As I mentioned, these three KPIs are equally weighted and each is just as important as the others. We value success, growth as young men and enjoyment in what we are doing. Those are our core principles, guiding us in our decision making as a staff, and will work alongside the Marist Sport Values to underpin the decisions we make and the program we offer as a college.

Coaching and Development

One of the key areas where I feel we can make a real improvement in what we are doing is in having fully developed coaching plans for each sport and activity, relative to the size of the sport or activity. Many have these already, though they are not connected. Underpinning the coaching and development plans will be the Marist Sport Values and the Key Performance Indicators. The Marist Sport Values will lead the way in showing us as sport staff how we want to play our sport at Marist, what we stand for and what we want to be known for. From these pillars our sports will develop coaching plans that teach our boys how to play the game with that mentality and philosophy. The coaching plans will have age appropriate guiding principles for coaching as well as gold standard coaching activities to teach those principles. There will be more consistency and continuity within sports so all coaches will know how they fit in the bigger picture and understand their role in the system. They will allow boys the opportunity to reach their full potential, understanding what is expected of them on and off the pitch.

Working Together

Our sports leaders have started a process of working together more. We will be meeting as a department more frequently, sharing successes and ideas, working together on shared vision and planning, discussing and managing multi-sport athletes in a better way and working together to see Marist College Ashgrove reach its full potential in sport. These will include fortnightly meetings and professional development evenings once per term where we can share best practice either from within our department or with external providers.

It was encouraging to see the team embrace these changes and I look forward to working with them all to develop better programs and experiences for the boys.

Next week I will delve more into the way we are going to manage overlapping programs so boys can develop in a deeper way for their sport while being able to participate in multiple sports throughout the year.

A last point to note for this week, the changes we are making in documentation, planning, communication and working more collaboratively are complex and require time and investment from the staff, most of whom have full-time roles as teachers and leaders in the College. The plan is to roll these out over the next 12-month period, hopefully, you will start to see the fruits of our labours in the coming seasons.

AIC E-Sports

The very first AIC Inaugural E-Sports Competition was conducted at Villanova College last Saturday 22nd October. This competition involved using Minecraft Software where the aim of the competition is to claim as many flags in the virtual environment as possible whilst using all methods possible to prevent the opposing team.

Marist had entered 2 teams who were leading the competition for a period of time throughout the day. Both teams performed well in the heats and because only one team from each school can progress through to the final, the higher placed team competed against St Laurence’s for the win. The Marist team were 2-0 down at one point throughout the competition but the boys fought back to win 4-2. This was a truly amazing effort demonstrating their skill and determination throughout the competition. Congratulations to both Marist Teams and to Ms Natoli and Mr Forster for coaching and assisting the teams on the day.

Team 1 – Runners-up

• Hudon O'Neil
• Aiden Agnew 
• Cooper Matthews
• Mitchell McCormick

Team 2 - Winners

• Leo Pigott 
• Caden Tucker 
• Matthew Stower
• Finlay Gardiner 
• Alessander Javier

Matthew Stower’s Recount of the Day

Going into the esports Minecraft competition, we had a lot of students pull out due to cricket and other commitments. This left us scrambling to get more players at the last second, and we managed to get almost a full team with the exception being the Marist 1 team was a player down. Fortunately, one of the players from Marist 2 was always happy to fill the last spot for Marist 1 when they were not playing. In the non-elimination first 3 rounds both of our Marist teams dominated the tournament, with Marist 1 only conceding a single flag and Marist 2 not losing a single flag. Neither of our teams lost a single game in this segment of the tournament, earning Marist 2 the number 1 seed. While Marist 1 was the second on the leaderboard 2 teams were not allowed to be in the elimination rounds apart from a wildcard, which they were given. This wildcard put them into the number 8 seed, which were set to fight the number 1 seed, which was Marist 2. So, in the quarter finals, the Marist teams fought. This meant that the player from Marist 2 could not be used on the Marist 1 team, so one of our players younger brothers joined the Marist 1 team. This was the first time that Marist 2 lost a flag, and it was scored in the last 2 seconds of the match. But alas Marist 1 lost 4-1 to Marist 2, ending the run of Marist 1. Next, we faced the Padua team, who had many supporters there, but beat them 14-0, our best win yet. For the final we were to play St Laurence and by the 10-minute mark we were down 2-0 and they had just defeated the pillager outpost, giving them some incredible loot. At this point we knew we were in serious trouble so two of our players were sent to the pillager outpost one after the other. The first hit the enemy three times, lowering his health enough for the other to kill him. This gave us the loot from the pillager outpost, allowing us to make the comeback of the century and win 4-2.

AIC Touch Carnival

Nine Marist touch teams competed in the AIC Touch Carnival last Saturday at St Laurence's College. The primary 1 boys were runners up, losing in the final, and the Year 9, 10 and 11 teams all played strongly and were unfortunate to just miss out on their final. It was a high quality competition, with Marist having the most teams involved. Thank you to the following people for giving up your time to help our boys.

• Mr John Lambourne
• Mr James Trebbin
• Mr James Fuminger
• Mr Patrick Denkes
• Mr Angus Sutherland
• Ms Melissa Orcher
• Ms Sharon Davidson
• Mr Brett Head
• Mr Pat Howard

Cricket - Mr Mitch Reid - Cricket Coordinator

Cricket trials will begin for 2023 teams in Week 5 of this term on the following dates:

All trials will be after school – 3:30pm-5:00pm. 

Monday 31 October 

Year 8 – Cameron Oval Nets 

Year 10 – Synthetic Nets (Junior Cricket Nets)  

Tuesday 1 November

Year 7 (Current Year 6 students only) – Cameron Oval Nets

Year 9 - Synthetic Nets (Junior Cricket Nets)  

Wednesday 2 November

Year 8 – Cameron Oval Nets

Year 10 – Synthetic Nets (Junior Cricket Nets)  

Thursday 3 November

Year 7 (New Year 7 2023 students only) – Cameron Oval Nets 

Year 9 - Synthetic Nets (Junior Cricket Nets)  

Friday 4 November 

Opens (Year 11/12) – Synthetic Nets (Junior Cricket Nets) 

7:00am – 8:00am

Students are to trial in the year level they will be in 2023 (example – current Year 7 students will sign trial for Year 8 teams).

Students are to bring the following to training: 

• Personal cricket equipment 
• Marist College sport uniform 
• Hat and water bottle 

Marist Cricket Registration 

All students need to register to play cricket via Student/Parent Portal (information on college app). 

Cricket Bag Storage

A reminder to all students to please store bags in the second storage shed around the corner from the student wellbeing centre. 

Marist College App

Please keep an eye on the College app for important cricket information, any changes to the weekly training schedule and training updates regarding wet weather. 

Track and Field – Mr Richard Graham Director of Track and Field

QLD All Schools Track and Field Championships 2022

Marist College Ashgrove had an excellent representative group attend and compete at the QLD All Schools Track and Field Championships held 13-16th October.

In total Marist athletes won 11 medals from the QLD State Championships (13-19 years) and 1 additional relay medal from the 10-12 Years age groups State Titles. (Note we are awaiting full results to be released from QLD School Sport who delay publishing publicly for privacy reasons)

Some notable performances we have been able to confirm include:

Lee Martin

• won 3 medals in 3 throws events. An incredible effort across 3 different disciplines.
• Gold Shot Put 16 Years (15.80m)
• Silver Javelin 16 Years   (53.07m)
• Bronze Discus 16 Years (45.28m)

Zac Milligan

• gold medal in the longest running event in his age group (3000m) and close to school record time in 1500m. 
• Gold 14 Years 3000m  9m32.41  and also 5th place in 1500m with a 4m17.55 time – less than 0.5s off school record.

Joel Drew

• 2 silver medals in both the hurdles events
• Silver 16 Years 110m Hurdles (School Record – 14.54. Currently being ratified once results released)
• Silver 16 Years 400m Hurdles (58.0s)

Asher Parkin

• Bronze 15 Years 3000m 9.09.83, Also qualified for final of 1500m

Zack Newsham

• Bronze 18-19 years 5000m (15m45.56), also 9th 1500m (4m08.3) PB

Sam Brassington

• Javelin 16 Years - Bronze medal (50.70m). Competition PB

Jonah Miles

• Javelin 15 Years – Bronze Medal   (49.69m). Competition PB

Neil Van Der Walt

• 17 Years High Jump – Bronze Medal  (1.88m. Also 12th in Triple Jump)

Hayden Lockhart and Hugo Underwood

• 10-12 years 4x100m relay Met North team (Silver medal). Excellent effort in our junior sprints team.

SCHOOL RECORDS – QSS State Titles (2022)

2 Marist athletes also broke existing college records at this meet which was excellent to see Marist boys record times not seen at the school before.

School Records in process of being ratified once final results released (Great work)

Joel Drew (Silver)

• 16 Years 110m Hurdles school record (14.54s)
• Previous record holder B.Daly – 14.58  (1993)

James Prole

• 16 Years 1500m school Record (5th) 4m08.75 
• Previous record holder Tom Prole – 4m10.50   (2020)

Additional Performances – QSS Track and Field State Titles

• Connor Campbell – 13 Years - 5th 400m final (56.27), 11th Long Jump (5.07m), 11th Triple Jump (10.71m), competed also in 200m.
• Xavier Simms – 16 Years - 4th 200m final (22.86) 6th 100m final (11.4)
• Isaac Roach – 11th 16 Years 800m (2m07)
• James Prole – 4th 16 Years 800m 1.58.72 (School record in 1500m – see above)
• Perry Croft – 17th 13 Years 800m, (2m17.9 – Competition PB)
• Harry Prole – 19th 13 Years 800m (2m20.1), 10th Years 1500m (4m42.1)
• Bailey Scarce – 9th 15 Years Javelin (38.12m)
• Reggie McMillan – 9th 17 Years Javelin (41.78m)
• George Daly – 17 Years 400m – (Competed in 400m semis, Time/place tbc)
• Isaac Ting – 6th 14 Years 100m Hurdles final (15.02s)
• James Wintzloff – 5th 15 Years final 400m (54.13s)
• Josh Dempsey – 9th discus 15 years final (40.95)
• Elliot Aldridge – 6th discus 15 years final (49.53)
• Charlie Weaver – 7th 110m Hurdles Final (16.13s)
• 10-12 Years Qld State Schools Track and Field - Results to be confirmed
• Hugo Underwood and Hayden Lockhart – 4x100m Relay Silver medal
• Ben Flanagan, Hugo Underwood and Hayden Lockhart.
• Other individual events TBC

QLD School Sports has yet to publish full track and field results which we are awaiting at this time to be released to acknowledge all performances. The following boys are recognised below for qualifying for the Met North team. Most competed and a few listed were unable to attend for various reasons along with the excellent performances mentioned above. Well done for making this team.

MARIST COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD - MET NORTH TEAM QUALIFIERS

13-19 Years

Elliot Aldridge    Sam Brassington               Connor Campbell

Ben Caughley     Perry Croft          George Daly

Joshua Dempsey              Joel Drew            Lee Martin

Reggie McMillan               Jonah Miles        Zac Milligan

Zack Newsham James O'Connor               Asher Parkin

Ben Player           Harry Prole         James Prole

Tom Prole           Cody Radman    Isaac Roach

Bailey Scarce      Xavier Simms     Isaac Ting

Neil Van der Walt             Charlie Weaver James Wintzloff

10-12 Years

Ben Flanagan     Hayden Lockhart              Hugo Underwood

Overall the Track and Field season has had great success and the athletes should be commended for their efforts. Those competing at the state finals will be better athletes for the experience. Many of these athletes will now progress into the QLD Athletics season to target the State Titles events and National Titles to be held in Brisbane early in Term 1, 2023.

Several of the team above will also be confirmed for the QLD All Schools Team to be named in the coming week to represent QLD in Adelaide at the National All Schools Championships in December.

Track and Field Pathways

For those wishing to continue their Track and Field journey beyond the AIC and State Athletics season please see Mr Graham or Mr Martin who can discuss pathways options depending on your preferred event, age and goals. We will look to cater for all as best we can to keep people fit noting that athletic mobility and strength can help all sports you compete in.

Student Achievements     

Track and Field

QLD Representatives: 4 Marist College Ashgrove Athletes have been chosen in the QLD All Schools Team representing the State at the National All Schools Track and Field finals to be held 9-11 Dec 2022. The following boys have been officially chosen:

• Zac Milligan - Under 15 3000m
• Asher Parkin - Under 16 3000m
• Joel Drew - Under 17 110m Hurdles and Under 17 400m Hurdles
• Lee Martin - Under 17 Shot Put and Under 17 Javelin

Congratulations to these boys who were selected after their performances at the recent QLD All Schools Championships and we wish them well for these titles.

Touch 

Oliver Peregrina participated in National Youth Championship for Touch Football for Brisbane City Cobras for U14 Boys which was held at the Sunshine Coast Stadium 28 Sept - 1 Oct. His team got knocked out in the semi finals to the eventual winners.  From this tournament, Oliver was selected to attend a 3 day camp for the QLD Youth Academy representing the Bronco team in the U14 Division in Feb 2023. This is a wonderful achievement to be selected as one of the top 14 boys for the Bronco‘s team where the region spans from Sunnycoast and Brisbane region.