Co-curricular

Winter Sports Trials - Clarification of Selection Process

As many would be aware, the Senior School Winter Sports Trials are scheduled to commence this week. To assist parents/carers 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. The following relevant background information should also help clarify why these processes are put in place.

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 whilst 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.

The inclement weather we are currently experiencing along with the unavailability of Council grounds during the trial period will no doubt have a significant impact on the procedures we have in place. Despite these setbacks, coaches will be working diligently to place boys in teams for the first round of Rugby, Football and Tennis fixtures against Trinity Grammar on Saturday 2 April which in itself is treated as another trial opportunity. In essence, these selections are for one week only and should not be seen as a definite placement for the entire season. 

That said, I would remind all participating students that we will be competing for the Annual Black and Green Aggregate Shield whereupon all evenly graded fixtures count towards the aggregate of wins and losses. Best wishes to all teams from our Rugby, Football and Tennis fraternities. 

In terms of the trial process, ordinarily:

Boys have the opportunity to participate in drills and play internal trial matches on two to three 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 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. 
Having lived the experience for numerous years now, I would strongly urge parents/carers 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 cream always floats to the top”.

I would also ask parents/carers 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 13s age group. Please feel free to contact either Mr Mifsud, Mr Locke, Mr Dunne or me by email or phone if you have any queries. Please note that boys taking part in Tennis, Rugby or Football will soon be issued letters outlining relevant expectations. 

Training Off Site – Protocol

Given the large number of summer and winter sports teams currently representing the College, certain teams have been allocated training sessions at nearby Hudson and Airey Parks along with the Marie Bashir Public School Playing Field/Basketball Court in Albert Road. In order to ensure boys make their way to and from the grounds safely, they are instructed to meet with their coaches by no later than 3:25 PM so that they are supervised along the journey.  

Ordinarily, boys making the return trip to school will leave their school bag at the College for the duration of the training session. I would ask you to remind boys that they should take their valuables, such as wallets and phones with them or leave them in their secured lockers. Clearly, boys being picked up at these grounds will need to take their school bags with them.

Parents wishing to pick up their son/s from the above-mentioned playing fields may do so once they have reported to the relevant coach at 4:50 PM, at which point teams will commence their return trip to the College.  Please note that under no circumstance will a boy be permitted to remain at the training field to wait for his parent/s or carer. Furthermore, students are not permitted to drive to and from these venues on training days. 

In some instances, parents may wish for their son/s to be left at the venue to enable them to attend their outside training commitments. In order for that to occur, parents/carers will need to inform the relevant MIC and coach, prior to the training session, of whom will be at the venue to assume the supervisory responsibility for their son/s from 4:50 PM onwards.

The College’s duty of care ceases at either 4:50 PM when the boys are handed over to the parent and/or approved adult or when the boys return to the College Campus at approximately 5:00 PM.

Co-curricular Program - Support for Elite Students

The College has become increasingly aware of the growing external demands placed on our students who are engaged in elite programs in the fields of sport and the performing arts. Managing these demands along with the pre-agreed terms of the College’s Co-curricular expectations can be difficult at times. Given that, parents/carers and boys are advised that the College will put measures in place for those students that have been identified as elite participants in their chosen areas.

Whilst there is no doubt the benefits the College community can derive from our students participating in external elite programs, processing individual requests with, at times, subjective criteria can be challenging. To that end, I offer the following guidelines:

First Tier:

If a request for leave is presented to me in advance, students who are selected to represent at  State or National levels in sport or in the Sydney Youth Orchestra,  wherever possible, will continue to be granted leave from representing the College should a clash occur with training and/or fixtures/performances. Parents/carers are kindly asked to forward support documentation with their written/emailed requests. Those families requesting exemption from the regular school week are asked to send their request to Mr Simpson, Director of Wellbeing with sufficient notice.

Second Tier:  

Valid for boys participating in two (2) or more full College Co-curricular activities per year, e.g., Athletics and Cross-Country count as one full Co-curricular activity.

Allowances may also be made for students engaged at recognised Club Representative levels, examples of which include, but are not limited to: 

Rugby League - Harold Matthews Cup
AFL - Swans and Giants Academies
Football - NPL 1 and NPL 2
Basketball - Metro Junior League Division 1 and 2.

These allowances apply to students seeking early release time from their first scheduled College training/practice session of the week. Ordinarily, these students will be permitted to leave halfway through the session if they have an external Club Representative training session that afternoon. These students may also seek to swap their winter Supporter’s duty for another date should it clash with their external representative fixture.

Parents/carers seeking this type of leave are to forward their request to Mr Mifsud (Acting Head of Secondary Sport), Mr Locke (Junior School Co-ordinator of Co-curricular) or me and await an approval. Parents/carers are kindly asked to forward support documentation with their written/emailed requests.  It is important to note that leave will not be granted from attending the College’s fixture/performance, nor does this allowance apply to those students selected in the “Firsts or Seconds”. 

Anthony Calavassy

Acting Director of Co-curricular