Sport Development Leader

Along with all our students I am also excited that the resumption of community and school sport over the coming weeks.  While there is much work and many guidelines to follow, we have made good progress towards the resumption of most activities in Term 3, should the restrictions lift as planned.

While it has been sad to lose two of our inter-house carnivals this year, I am excited at the ideas from our Sport and House Captains to run the inter-house games around the College during break times.  Yesterday was the first of these events, and I am sure the rest of the term will be competitive and fun with these.

The resumption of inter-school sport is also under review.  Trimester 2 sport has been cancelled; however Trimester 3 looks good.  We are also exploring the viability of shifting Soccer and Hockey into this trimester for 2020.  We hope to have a decision on this soon and start to bring our teams together.

Athletics season is also coming around quickly and there is much discussion regarding the viability of this inter-school CaSSSA event.  There are some contingency plans in place and the possibility this may even be swapped out for an inter-school Cross Country carnival to meet the guidelines, hygiene practices, and also fitness of our students. 

Run Club will return in the last week of this term as restrictions change to Level 2.  We have a sign-up form in Student Notices so we can ensure we stay within the rules with group sizes.  Once we return for Term 3, all going well, we can have up to 100 in a group and we can push ahead as normal.

One thing that is being discussed is Injury and its relationship to return to sport.  We need to be aware that many of us have had our physical load drop considerably for eight to ten weeks.  While everyone is excited about resuming sport, we need to remember that we must do so at a speed that can build our strength and fitness back up gradually.  I have seen it all too often - the athlete who has returned from a break in sport with much excitement and pushes too hard too early.  This usually results in more time off for another injury.  It is important to manage total training load when you are participating in both school sport and club sport.  Don’t be afraid to take it slowly.  Communicate with your coaches and parents about how you are feeling.  If you feel lethargic or sore, modify your training, make it enjoyable, and set small fitness goal.  Instead of thinking, “See you at the finish line”, adopt the thought process of, “See you at the starting line”.  The rest will take care of itself ….

Keep an eye out for Sporting Notices for further information and we will see you all back enjoying sport and fitness again very soon.

Josh White