Sports Bulletin – Issue 2, 15 February 2024

The Week 4 College Assembly was Sport focused, with the presentation of our Trimester 1 Captains and Firsts teams in AFL, Cricket, Swimming and Volleyball. The theme of the assembly was the GREATS framework pillar of Respect. Our young leaders were united in their approach to lead by example in 2024, and to ensure this notion of respect was integral to the culture and success of their programmes.

Our Swimmers are starting to put the final touches on their preparations for the AIC Championships on Tuesday 5 March. We travel to St Peters Lutheran College this Friday 16 February for Meet 3, with the final Meet 4 at Chandler on Thursday 22 February. I encourage all Swimmers to prioritise the training sessions and meets over other sports for the next three weeks.

The Strength & Conditioning and Speed & Agility programmes continue to grow as students learn to understand the importance of physical literacy and its correlation, not only to sports performance, but to general health and wellness. Whinstanes is a hive of activity on Monday mornings with over sixty Year 5-8 students participating in our Speed & Agility programme.

Soon, we will shift focus to Trimester 2 preparations in Chess, Cross-Country, Football and Rugby Union. Trimester 2 Sport Registrations will open next week (Week 5) and close in Week 7. Cross-Country training commences in Week 7, with Chess following suit very soon after. Football and Rugby Union selection trials commence in Week 9 (from Monday 18 March). The Term 2 training schedule will be available soon.

Draw – Round 3, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February
Round 3 vs St Laurence’s College – is now available on the Locker Room page. The draw will be posted to Locker Room by the Wednesday prior to the round ahead. This is the earliest possible time we can post this information.

Canteens and Volunteers
Thanks to the Sports Club, our canteens are back! There will be canteens operating in the Villa Park grandstand and in Goold Hall this Saturday 17 February.
The Villa Park grandstand will be assisted by volunteers from the Year 9A and 8A cricket teams.

Below is a link to sign up to assist at the Goold Hall canteen. There are 30 minute shifts allocated, so you may be able to help whilst your son is warming up or performing duties at another game. If you can’t sign up for the full block, just pop your head in on the day to see if any help is needed.

On behalf of the Sports Club, we appreciate your assistance.

Volleyball Goold Hall Canteen Volunteers — Sat 17 Feb – Sign Up Here

Team Photos
Friday 16 February – AFL Open Seconds at Coorparoo AFL (between fields 1 and 2)
Saturday 17 February –

• AFL Years 5 and 6 at Yeronga AFL (near main canteen)
• Cricket Years 5, 7, 8, 9 and Fifth XI at Villa Park (Andrew Slack Scoreboard)
• Volleyball Years 7, 8 and 9 at Villanova College (tuckshop undercroft)

Round 2 Results

AFL Round 2

Cricket Round 2

Volleyball Round 2

Team Lists
Team lists do not appear online. They appear in the Parent Lounge and Student Cafe sections of the portal.
Team lists will be posted by Thursday prior to the round ahead. This is the earliest possible time we can post this information.

AIC Draw 2024
Please find attached the AIC Draw for 2024.

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.

Training Schedules
For all updated information regarding training and selection trials schedules, please visit the Locker Room page of the Villanova College website.
Sport specific training schedules for AFL, Cricket and Volleyball can also be found on the Locker Room page.

All Sport Training Schedule – Term 1, 2024

Term 1 Sport Uniforms
Families are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Villanova College Uniform Look Book. This information is found on the College website Uniform Shop page. Opening hours for the Uniform Shop can also be found here. All students selected in AIC teams are expected to wear the correct uniform for AIC fixtures each week.

Hire Jerseys – Term 1 AFL and Volleyball
In Term 1, students playing AFL and Volleyball will hire jerseys from the College.
Students who have not collected their hire jersey need to visit the Uniform Shop as soon as possible.

Jerseys are then returned to the Uniform Shop before the end of Term 1.

Jerseys not returned by the end of Term 1 incur a late fee charge on the student’s account.
The deadline of the end of Term 1 (last day of term) is strict. All hire jerseys must be returned by then to avoid the late fee charge.

Students must have the full correct uniform, including hire jersey, for all AIC matches.

Sport Contact List
If you are requiring information about a specific Sport, in the first instance, visit the website Locker Room page. If you need further clarification, please contact the relevant Coordinator below. For any training or game absences, please contact your Sport Coordinator.

Director of Sport – Shaun McLean, smcleanatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC AFL Coordinator – Matt Conlan, mconlanatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cricket Coordinator – Chris Everding, ceverdingatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Swimming Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobsatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Volleyball Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkroppatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cross-Country Coordinator – Brian Pascoe – bpascoeatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Chess Coordinator – Kath Underhill, kunderhillatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Football Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, nduftyatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Rugby Union Coordinator – Chris Everding, ceverdingatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Golf Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkroppatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Basketball Coordinator – TBC – contact the Director of Sport
AIC Rugby League Coordinator – Alex Russell, arussellatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Tennis Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, nduftyatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Track & Field Coordinator – Anthony Kemp, akempatvnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Water Polo Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobsatvnc.qld.edu.au
Composite District Sport – Todd Kropp, tkroppatvnc.qld.edu.au
Lytton District Sport – Chris Everding, ceverdingatvnc.qld.edu.au

Wet weather cancellations
If there is any reason to cancel training sessions or weekend games, this information will be posted to the Villa App in the Notices section.
Please ensure you have downloaded the Villa App and updated your preferences and settings.

The Villa Sports Department will endeavour to cancel morning training sessions by 6am and afternoon training sessions by 1pm. If a training session is cancelled, boys are not able to be dropped off to the training venue as there will not be supervision present. Please check the Villa App regularly for these notifications.

If any AIC fixtures are cancelled, we will follow the same procedure above. Timing will be dependent on when that information becomes available.

Rugby Union and Football (soccer) coaches needed.
The Sports Office is currently finalising the coaching lists, for rugby and football. If there are any parents or members of the Villanova community, keen on coaching a team in Term 2, could you please contact the Sports Office. We have some spaces to fill across the College but would be keen to hear from our Year 5 parents about taking a team next term.

Mr Shaun McLean, Director of Sport

It was a clean sweep for our AFL teams against St Patrick’s on the weekend. It was an admirable accomplishment and something that hasn’t been achieved for several years.

I had the pleasure of watching the 2^nd XVIII game on Friday afternoon and the Years 7-9 teams play on Saturday morning.  Notably, the impressive victory by the 2^nd XVIII was a significant turnaround from their performance against Ashgrove the week before. Their sustained pressure on the opposition and their determination to win shone through and they ran away with a convincing win in the end.

What made the Year 9A win even more remarkable was that they went into the game significantly undermanned, and this was compounded by the challenging wet conditions. Despite these adversities, the team exhibited resilience, passion, and skill, resulting in a well-deserved victory. Their rendition of the Villa war cry was something to behold and hopefully this victory will drive them onto bigger and better things in the weeks ahead.

This weekend we line up against St Laurence’s College. These matches often go down to the wire and I’m confident that if we bring the same endeavour and positive attitude, we can secure more wins than loses. Go the Wildcats!

Matt Conlan, AFL Coordinator

Last Saturday’s fixtures against St. Patrick’s College were very trying for the teams that travelled to Bracken Ridge and Shorncliffe. The weather had forced cancellations to a few games but unfortunately families had made the journey before being notified that games would not proceed. Games at Curlew began with showers around the grounds and the weather continued to disrupt matches with a number being cancelled during the match. Coaches from both colleges negotiated time losses and reduced over games were played all day. St. Patrick’s seemed to handle the Home ground advantage better than the Villa teams and came away with more victories on the day. Thanks to all the coaches who made the decisions to make sure the boys got a game in and I’m sure the Napisan got a workout on Saturday evening to try and get the grass stains out of the cricket whites.

There were a number of boys across all year levels, who could not make the matches due to illness and this put a strain on team numbers and chasing up players to fill in the spots and make sure that we could field full teams for Saturday. We ask that you contact your coach at your earliest convenience to notify them of illness or players being absent, so the other players in the team are not disadvantaged. There were players that just didn’t show up last week. As we move closer to the rugby and football seasons commencing, many clubs will begin trials. We are often more impacted by football clubs, and we realise that families will experience clashes and we also understand the pressure put on families from football clubs. If you are in this position please contact the Sports Office, so we can work with you to come up with a solution.

Good luck to all teams this Saturday, as we take on our tradition rivals St. Laurence’s College. The 1^st XI will be playing away at Runcorn with all of the Open teams and the Year 10s and 6s. Villa Park will host the Year 7, 8 and 9 teams, who are all looking at bouncing back from last Saturday and performing strongly.

There will be a canteen operating at Villa Park, serving drinks and some hot food from our 8A and 9A parents. If you are at Villa Park, please support the Sports Club and grab a refreshment, while you are there.

Photos will also be taken for teams playing at Villa Park and Kianawah Park. These photos will be at Villa Park and will be taken near the Andrew Slack scoreboard. Teams are asked to assemble with their coaches, at least 10 minutes prior to the photo and be ready to head off to their matches.

Chris Everding, Cricket Coordinator

1^st XI Cricket
In last week’s newsletter after our Round 1 loss to Ashgrove, I said that I was confident that the 1^st XI team can respond in a positive way and put in a strong performance against SPC. I’m pleased to report that the team certainly did that and recorded their first win of the season against a proven and strong SPC 1^st XI team.

Unfortunately, during warmups – we lost a player due to illness which resulted in Max Jones earning a very late call up to make his first XI debut with Max now becoming Villanova 1^st XI cricketer #499. Congratulations to Max on this personal achievement.

Villanova lost the toss and were sent in on a pitch that looked challenging due to overnight wet weather conditions. Our top order once again set a positive style and we were 1-35 after 6 overs. SPC were then able to pick up regular wickets which kept the pressure on our middle order. Number 3 batter Roman Dunne (53) batted superbly which put us in a strong position at the second drinks break. Lewis McMahon (44) and Lachlan Colbert (40*) then put on an important partnership, which allowed us to post a competitive total score of 200.

Our bowling innings started brilliantly with Henrik Frederiksen once again claiming early wickets in the SPC top order, he was well supported with the new ball from Lachlan Colbert (0-23) who bowled his 10 overs straight. SPC then showed great character in forming some partnerships, which had the game in the balance halfway through their batting innings. Captain Finn Thallon then made some positive bowling changes with Mitchell Francis (3-16) breaking the game wide open, while opening bowler Henrik Frederiksen executed his second spell brilliantly to clean up the SPC bottom order to finish with figures of 5-22 of his 10 overs.

Even though I know the team has more improvement to come, it was a great result for all players for their hard work and great attitude. The 1^st XI teams focus now turns to our round 3 match vs SLC, where both teams will be competing for the prestigious Collis Cup.

Good luck to all Villanova sporting teams for round 3.

Nathan Dufty, 1^st XI Head Coach

On Friday evening of Week 3, the Villanova Swim squad participated in our second swim meet for the season held at Iona.  Many of the boys were able to produce improved times, with some of the younger and newer swimmers getting used to the processes and swimming 5 and 7 second PB’s.  Well done boys.  Each of the boys who swam on Friday night received their Villanova Wildcat caps for the season.  They looked formidable in the water during the warmup.

Last weekend, our Villa swimmers competed at the 2024 Queensland Sprint Championships.  This is a competition for 50m Sprints only across the four strokes.

Firstly, a very special mention for Oliver Jacobs (Year 11) who qualified for three finals and secured the Gold Medal in the 15 Years 50m Butterfly. Oliver also finished fifth in Backstroke and sixth in Freestyle. What an amazing achievement, well done Oliver!

Congratulations also to each of the following swimmers for their top 20 finish in the State. In all we had four swimmers qualify for eight finals over the weekend.

• Harry Pregnell qualified for the 13 Years Butterfly final and finished tenth in the final. He also finished eleventh in the 13 Years Breaststroke and thirteenth in Queensland for Freestyle.
• Charlie Campbell qualified for the 12 Years Breaststroke final and finished sixth.
• Jack Stewart qualified for the 14 Years Breaststroke final and finished ninth.
• Isaac Bowen finished fifteenth in the State for 14 Years Breaststroke.
• Brodie Clelland was fifteenth for 12 Years Backstroke.
• Hugo Patterson finished eighteenth in the 15 Years Breaststroke.

Well done to all the other Villanova swimmers who performed well on the weekend as they continue to prepare for AIC , Met East qualification and ultimately the Age Nationals at Easter.

The next meet on Friday 16 February will be again held at St Peter’s Lutheran College. Buses will take the boys to the meet and return them to the College.  We cannot predict when the meet will finish but aim for as close to 6:15 as possible.  Parents are welcome to come to St Peter’s to collect their boys, and to watch the swims.  Any swimmer who is still at the pool as we prepare to depart will be required to travel back to the College on the bus.  We do not leave any swimmer behind to wait for their families.  We ask that parents arrive at Villanova about 6:30 to be waiting for the return of the bus.

Finally, thank you to all the swimmers who have been training with the squad. We only have two more practice meets before the final AIC Competition.
Continue to train hard and listen to your coaches.

AIC Swimming Meets
Save the dates for upcoming AIC meets and AIC Championships:

• Friday 16 February at SPLC
• Thurs 22 February at Chandler
• Tuesday 5 March at AIC Championships at Chandler
• Team photo at Villanova College that morning prior to catching the bus to Chandler.

Buses will transport boys both ways at all meets and championships, other than Iona on 9 Feb which will be one-way only. Parents may collect boys from the meets and take them home – they just need to check in with a staff member prior to leaving. Meet timings and details will be distributed closer to the dates in the weekly draw.

Juanita Jacobs, Swimming Coordinator

Another great round of AIC Volleyball this past weekend against St Patrick’s College. We again posted some great results across our teams. Across the board, I am proud to say that our players exemplified the standard of Villanova Volleyball. It was refreshing to see our teams set the standard of the match throughout all rallies. I’d like to give an honourable mention to our 3^rd VI team, and coach Mr Paul Begg, for taking their opening set 25-0!

It was another great performance by our First VI team this weekend who took the win in their match 3-0 against a strong SPC side. Through some exceptional defence and blocking structure, our First team stamped their mark on the AIC season. Our team prides itself on our ability to convert a reception into attack in all forms of reception and this was shown on the weekend. There is no rest for this team of young men, who take on St Laurence’s College this Saturday in what I’m sure will be another very tough encounter.

For all AIC Volleyball teams, we welcome back our Junior teams for their first official match on home ground. With that said, our Year 7-9 teams will also be responsible for court duty and will have their team photos taken this Saturday (roster below).

Round 3 duty roster

Best of Luck to all teams for this weekend!

Todd Kropp, Volleyball Coordinator

The training for the 2023 AIC Cross-Country season starts on Tuesday March 5 in Week 7A of Term 1 with the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools squads training as one (Tuesday 5 March is the AIC Swimming Championships, so swimmers will not be required at Cross-Country training on this morning). 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 students who want to be involved to start their own running training now in preparation for the start of the running season.

I encourage boys, especially students fit from playing other sports or wanting to be fitter for their other sports to speak to either Mr Pascoe or Mr Roache 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 – Weeks 7-10 – Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, 6:45-8am.
Term 2 – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, 6:45-8am.

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

The cross-country season will once again include a number of warm-up meets. This will allow students race practice and to familiarise themselves with AIC Championship course at St Patricks College playing fields, Curlew Park Sandgate. The warm-up meets include,

Cross-Country Warm-up Meets

• Wednesday 8 May 5 at Sherwood
• Wednesday 15 May at SPC – AIC course familiarisation.
• Wednesday 22 May at Runcorn

All Cross-Country training will be conducted on and around the precincts of the College and Little Langlands.
The training is completed by 7.45am with shower facilities available in Goold Hall and the tuckshop open from 8am for breakfast if required.
The 2024 Cross-Country Championship is scheduled for the 29th of May at Curlew Park, Shorncliffe.
We encourage all boys intending to join the ‘Running Wildcats’ to attend training starting Week 7 and see how great you can be.

Brian Pascoe, Cross-Country Coordinator

For those students in Years 5-8 who have registered for Speed & Agility Training, these sessions continue on Monday mornings.
Registrations have now closed for Term 1. Term 2 registrations will be available later this term.

For students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12, there are “free” Speed & Agility sessions on Wednesday mornings at 7-8am on Whinstanes.
These sessions are free of charge and open to any boys in Years 9-12.

Nomination paperwork is available from the Sports Office for the following Sports.

Please note achievements that have already been posted to the College’s social media platforms will not also be displayed in the newsletter.

Criteria for social media posts are generally achievements reaching a National level of representation or success/leadership of State level teams (e.g. selection in an Australian team). Or significant achievements on parallel with this.

Criteria for newsletter posts are generally achievements reaching a State level of representation (e.g. selection in a QLD team). Club, Met East or Composite representation does not meet the criteria for newsletters.

Please send all newsworthy stories to smcleanatvnc.qld.edu.au.

And always remember; kids sport is meant to be fun…

Collection Notice for parents/guardians – 2024 Student Residential Address and Other Information

https://www.vnc.qld.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Privacy-Collection-Notice-for-Parents-Address-Collection-2024.pdf