Sports Bulletin: Issue 03/23

The focus of our College Assembly last Friday was teamwork. A fitting time for this theme as the AIC Swimming Championships are nearly upon us.

Although Swimming is often portrayed as an individual sport, many of our Australian Olympic Swimmers speak of the importance of the ‘team’ in their own personal success. Individually, we will be racing the clock and challenging our own personal bests, but foremost in our minds will be the performance of our team.

Often on Championship days, the difference between first and second, or fourth and fifth, are small defining moments where boys dig deep to pass an opposition swimmer in the last five metres or push hard on a full stroke into the wall. I challenge our swimmers to always finish hard, as every event counts towards the overall team goal.

On behalf of the College, I wish our Swim team well next Tuesday 7 March. I also congratulate our Swimming Captains for 2023:

• Captain of Swimming: Oscar De Tina
• Vice-Captain of Swimming (Senior School): Hugo Harrison
• Vice-Captain of Swimming (Middle School): Wyatt Clelland
• Vice-Captains of Swimming (Junior School):  Isaac Haywood and Ashton Lewis

Communications
Families are reminded to access all Sport information via the Villanova College website and the Villanova College App. The Locker Room tab provides updated information regarding training schedules and current AIC/trial draws.

The AIC Draw 2023 can also be accessed here. A note that in some cases, draws may not match the AIC draw (for example this is the case in AFL). Families are encouraged to always check The Locker Room for accurate draws. Weekly Team Lists will be posted regularly to the Parent Lounge and Student Cafe Portals.

For full updated Term 1 results please click on the links provided below.

AFL Round 4

Cricket Round 4

Volleyball Round 4

Team Photos
The following team photos will be taken on Saturday 4 March for AIC AFL, Cricket and Volleyball. The boys will need to be at the photos 10 minutes before their scheduled time, dressed in their full sports attire. Any latecomers will unfortunately miss out on being in the photo.

The Firsts team photos, plus 6 Gold Cricket, will be scheduled at a later time.

Volleyball Team Photos
Saturday 4 March – Villanova College (Undercroft at Tuckshop)

Cricket Team Photos
Saturday 4 March – Villa Park (Under Andrew Slack Scoreboard)

AFL Team Photos
Saturday 4 March – Yeronga AFLQ, Cansdale St, Yeronga

Parent Volunteers
A reminder that the Villanova Sports Club run canteens at each of the home sporting venues on Saturdays. If any parents have some spare time on game days to lend a hand, perhaps during your son’s warm-up or Cricket lunch, or duty at Volleyball, that would be very much appreciated. Revenue raised from our canteens goes directly towards the development of our Sports programs. Thank you in advance for your assistance. It is very much appreciated.

Please sign up here to assist on our Goold Hall canteen at Volleyball (Years 7-9 parents): Volleyball Canteen Volunteers 4th March, 2023

Please sign up here to assist on our Villa Park canteen at Cricket (Years 8A and 9A parents): Cricket Canteen Volunteers 4th March, 2023

Trimester 2 Coaches Welcome & Induction evening
Please save the date for our Trimester 2 Sports Coaches Welcome and Induction evening, Wednesday 15 March, 6:00-7:30pm at Villanova College.
All Trimester 2 Sports Coaches will be encouraged to attend – Chess, Cross Country, Football and Rugby. The primary goal will be for attendees to leave with all induction and compliance items completed, so that coaching can commence asap.

If you are interested in coaching a Term 2 sport, we would love to have you on board. Please contact the sportsoffice@vnc.qld.edu.au.

Strength & Conditioning
Villanova College’s 2023 Strength & Conditioning (S&C) program has now commenced. The Villanova gym will be supervised by experienced and accredited S&C coaches, every morning and afternoon of the school year. The College is very happy to announce our partnership with Athletix, who will be providing our ongoing Strength & Conditioning support in 2023.

With regards to the training schedules, in-season and pre-season sports will be prioritised, plus there will be development sessions available for students across Years 7-12. Based on gym floor space, the numbers able to attend each session will (of course) be limited. Students are able to join a stand-by list if sessions are full.

Registrations are still open for S&C sessions in Weeks 3-8 Term 1. Please click on the link provided to register your attendance.

Swimming – AIC Championships Tuesday 7^th March.
Our final swimming meet for the season was held Thursday 23 February, at Chandler. It was good to see a large group of swimmers attend. This was also the first time that some of our younger swimmers have experienced the atmosphere at Chandler, and it was important for them to swim in the large venue to disperse a few of the nerves for next week. We had some excellent times on the night, which is promising for the AIC Championships. Coaches and manages however commented on the spirit of the boys as they congratulated each other after a good race. The smiles and encouragement from their teammates will be even more important for next week.

This week we have focused on the relay change overs at training. It is important for all swimmers to attend. With injury and illness always close, we never know when the reserves will be called up on the day. Everyone needs to be prepared to swim.  The team list will be published tomorrow. The list of swimmers and events will be available on the website, and in the app.  These lists remain tentative as changes can still be made up to the morning of the Championships. The positions in the teams have been decided by the coaches on the basis of the fastest recorded times available on Meet Mobile and at Villanova meets during the season. Team information for the event will be uploaded to the website with the team list.

In summary:

• The squad are required to be at school on Tuesday at 6:45 for the team photo.  Please wear the squad shirt and PE shorts with sports shoes.
• All swimmers must wear Villa togs or black/dark racers.
• Swimmers and reserves will be required to attend on the day.  Boys who have been training with the squad but are not listed as a reserve or swimmer are welcome to join us on the day to support the team.
• Times for the races are approximate only.  Parents should arrive early if they wish to see their sons swim, parking can also be an issue.
• Parents are able to take the swimmers home with them directly from the carnival, but all swimmers must be at school to travel to the venue together.

We wish all the swimmers the best of luck for next Tuesday, knowing that each of them will be working to achieve their personal bests on the day. It is special day for the Year 12 swimmers as they compete at their last AIC carnival. I hope that they enjoy the time and thank them whole heartedly for their support of the squad over their time at Villa.

AIC Swimming Information 2023

Mrs Juanita Jacobs, Swimming Coordinator

AFL
Make sure when the opportunity presents each week, you take it with both hands. With only a couple of weekends remaining it is vital we are continuing to play as well as we can with many games decided by only a few points. Make sure you stay in touch with your coaches for any information relevant to illness, injury or other commitments that may prevent you from fulfilling your responsibility with the team. Due to some injuries and illness your team may ask you to play a different role to usual, value the experience to make you a better player.

Congratulations to Year 10 student Sabastian Bailey who made his debut for the Open AFL team against St Peter’s Lutheran College Friday evening. Sabastian, played mainly through the midfield gaining many touches of the football and showing great decision making and skill level in his ball distribution. Unfortunately, an extra coat of paint was about all that cost Sebastian his first goal when he grazed the post following a great contested mark in the forward fifty. On Saturday Sabastian assisted with the coaching of the 7B’s who enjoyed a hard fought win. Well done to Sabastian who is a positive influence on the Villa community playing his footy hard and fair and supporting his younger Villa brothers through mentoring and coaching.

In light of another round of close results I revisit the theme Make Your Mate ‘Best on Ground’. As is the case in ball sports the most dangerous player on the field is the person with the ball. Therefore one of the most important skills on the field is the ability to win the ball.

Actions to Win the Ball:

• Body in line with the ball
• First hands on the ball
• Always play in front of your opponent

I challenge all boys playing AFL this week to endeavour to be the first to the football to make your mate ‘Best on Ground’. We wish all teams the best of luck this weekend in your games against either Iona or Padua.

Mr Brian Pascoe, 1^st XVIII Head Coach

Cricket
After four rounds into the competition many of Villa’s cricket sides have experienced a lot of success and are building up to some big match ups over the next two rounds against Padua College this Saturday and Iona College in Round 6. These two rounds will have a huge bearing on the overall aggregate champions at the end of the season, with all three Colleges tasting success so far this season. Villa still has numerous undefeated teams including the 10A, 9A, 7A and 5A teams, which highlights the talent we have at the highest level for each age group. The 8As have only lost one match and are still in the hunt for a premiership, while the 6As have only dropped one match as well.

It has been impressive to see the sessions being conducted by our coaches and that the boys are improving and rising to the challenges each week. Good luck to all teams this Saturday.

Canteen- Year 9A and 8A cricket parents
Parents of the 9A and 8A cricket teams will be responsible for the running of the canteen at Villa Park this week. We thank you in advance for your time and effort in assisting the College and raising funds for the Sports Club.

1^st XI Match Report
The 1^st XI team were at home again for our Round 4 match up against St Edmunds. As a team, we wanted to build on the momentum of the previous weeks win against Laurie’s, whilst making sure that we keep improving “as a team” on a weekly basis.

Captain Tom Rieck won the toss and chose to bowl. This decision was supported by the players and the team put in a fine bowling performance. Openers Jackson Moloney (1-9) and Larry Clark (3-13) set the standard with the ball and were able to get early wickets through bowling with excellent consistency.

The momentum continued with the ball with Tom Rieck (2-18), Zac Joyce (2-9) and Connor Moloney (2-2) all picking up key wickets early in their spells which resulted in us bowling St Edmunds out for 53. We took an “attacking approach” with chasing down the required runs which saw Zac Joyce (22no) and Mitchell Francis (25no) setting the tone with the bat and getting the required total in only seven overs. The most pleasing thing for me as Coach, is that it showed what the team is capable off when they execute their skills on gameday, as a team we still need to stay focused and keep looking to be that “10% better” every week and finish the season strongly.

Good luck to all Villanova sporting teams for Round 5 Vs Padua.

Mr Nathan Dufty, First XI Head Coach

 Mr Chris Everding, Cricket Coordinator

Volleyball
It was another tough round of Volleyball this past weekend v St Edmund’s College. I am proud to say we recorded many victories over the weekend in some challenging matches. I got to visit a number of teams at training this week and it is great to see the intensity and work ethic our teams display at training. As we pass the halfway mark of the season, I encourage teams to continue their hard work at training regardless of the outcome of the season. I challenge players to take the confidence they get at training into their matches each weekend.

Our First VI team had a good performance winning their match 3-1 against a powerful St Edmund’s First team. Our team showed a comfortable lead throughout sets 1, 2, and 4 with us losing the third set. Whilst it is always disappointing to lose sets, I am proud to say our team did show some great resilience and chased down a 9-point deficit but fell just short of gaining the set.

Ahead of Round 5 v Padua can I please remind families to check the draw/ duty requirements for our Year 7-9 teams and the photo schedule.

In closing, can I make a special mention to our Year 11 age group who are yet to lose a match as a cohort. Well done to those boys and coaches.

Mr Todd Kropp, Volleyball First VI Head Coach & Volleyball Coordinator

Chess
The 2023 Villanova Chess Club is now open at Villanova, with opportunities to play socially at lunchtimes. A number of highly motivated and passionate staff run the College’s Chess program and a specialised external Chess Coach is employed by Villanova to teach all the necessary skills and strategies needed to master the game. From these sessions, teams will be selected based on skill and commitment.

The AIC Chess competition is held during Term 2 and all games are played on Friday afternoons or evenings after school, with our first trial against St Laurence’s on Friday 24 March. More information regarding the draw and training schedule will be available soon via The Locker Room, Sports newsletters and Morning Notices.

Any questions should be directed through the Villanova AIC Chess Co-ordinator – Mrs Kath Underhill – kunderhill@vnc.qld.edu.au.

Mrs Kath Underhill, Chess Coordinator

Cross-Country – The Running Wildcats
The training for the 2023 AIC Cross-Country season starts on Tuesday 7 March in Week 7 of Term 1 with the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools squads training as one. Dedication to training, effort and positive respectful relationships are the characteristics of the students at Villanova College who train with the cross-country squad.

I challenge boys, especially students fit from playing other sports or wanting to be fitter for their other sports to speak to either Mr Pascoe, Mr Roache or Miss Roberts about how you could get involved. Especially, if you have not previously joined the Cross-Country squad.

We are aware that many boys will have lots of different activities going on. We encourage our best runners to represent Villanova on the day of the championships. It may be the case that a student may not be able to attend all training sessions due to other commitments. If this is the case, we simply need students to communicate this to the coaches and managers involved. We are open to negotiating alternative training schedules with those who have lots on to facilitate optimal performance and maintain athlete well-being.

Training Schedule:
Term 1, Week 7-10 – Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings.
Term 2, Weeks 1-8 – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.
Middle and Senior School Students:

• Meet in front of Goold Hall and have name marked off roll.
• Leave Goold Hall at 6.45 am.

Junior School Students:

• Meet Miss Roberts at the Agora, store bags, have name marked on roll.
• Leave the Agora at 6.45 am.

All Cross-Country training will be conducted on and around the precincts of the college and Little Langlands. The training is completed by 7.45 am with shower facilities available in the pool area and the tuckshop open from 8 am for breakfast if required.
The 2023 Cross-Country Championship is scheduled for 31 May at Curlew Park, Shorncliffe.
We encourage all boys intending to join the ‘Running Wildcats’ to attend training next week and see how great you can be.

Mr Brian Pascoe, Cross-Country Coordinator

Football
The Football Firsts Squad have been training in Term 1 on Wednesday afternoons. This will continue through to Week 8. In Week 9, training sessions will change to both Monday and Wednesday afternoons and remain until the end of Term 2.

The Firsts Squad will have an Easter Training Camp at Villanova Park, Thursday 13 and Friday 14 April. Approximate timings are 8:30-3pm, with lunch provided. There will also be trial games played the afternoon/evening of Friday 14. Full camp details will be provided in next week’s Villa View.

A reminder to Football players that the Villa gym is available for your use on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 3:15-4:45pm. Please bring a water bottle and towel to each session.

Composite District
Composite/Met East trial information is now available at the Sports office for the following sports.

Mr Shaun McLean, Director Of Sport