Secondary Sport
From the Head of Secondary School Sport
Sport Is a Privilege!
In our jobs as educators, we have the privilege of witnessing the growth and joy students receive through learning. Specifically, in the case of sport, we witness this through the opportunity of authentic, self-directed, intrinsically motivated activities which physically, mentally and emotionally immerse our students within the given moment. Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in their research into positive psychology referred to this as a ‘state of flow’. They attribute this state to a greater sense of happiness in life. When an individual is in this ‘state of flow’, they are focused so deeply on the task that any external problems outside of the immediate priority of the creative pursuit or activity at hand are forgotten. At a time in society when we are bombarded with negative media and in a continual state of change, these moments of ‘flow’ can be more valuable to our mental health than we may recognise.
Over the last few weekends, in what has been a mixed bag of Redlands Sport, I have witnessed these moments, some of which are captured below in the photo collage. Regardless of the competition or the score, it is the unadulterated joy of the game where our students can truly grow and develop as vibrant, happy and healthy young men and women. Sport is indeed a privilege.
Football
We had a great day out at Macquarie University on Saturday to celebrate the Redlands Football season. Despite the season being disrupted it was great to see so many kids out there giving it their all.
The day started with the U13 and U14 combined World Cup, which consisted on four mini teams (6-a-side) and featured Australia, Italy, France and Spain. The games were very entertaining to watch with a number of the “Pool” matches coming down to the final kicks on the game. The Semi Finals were just as thrilling, with the Australia vs Italy match ending in a penalty shoot out (which lasted 10 kicks from each team), Italy proving too strong in the end, taking the whole tournament.
The Junior and Inter Girls had another exciting World Cup with their final going through extra time and finishing with another exciting penalty shoot out. Luck of the European teams was again the surprise here with Spain taking the match.
The match of the day was definitely Team Kate (coached by Gerry Gomez) vs Team Lachie (coached by Adam Griffiths). On Wednesday Boys Football Captain Lachlan Edwards and Girls Football Captain Kate Stanbridge drew mixed teams out of a hat. With the teams drawn, there was some friendly banter in the lead up to the match from both the boys and the girls in the 1st XI teams. Team Lachie jumped out to a 2-0 lead and Team Kate looked to dominate the second half with some entertaining refereeing. The match finished 2-2. Much to the amusement of stand-in referee Gerry Gomez, the game went to penalties!
A huge thank you to the Friends of Football who provided some much needed assistance setting up the day, it was greatly appreciated.
Hockey
All three of our Redlands Hockey teams played an internal competition at Macquarie University on Saturday. With three even teams selected for the event, it was a great opportunity for our Junior and Senior players to play together. It was a fun atmosphere and an enjoyable finish to the season for all players. Best of luck to the Yr 12 students who have now finished their time in the Hockey program at Redlands. Many of these students have played Hockey for Redlands for a number of years and have been valued members of the Hockey community.
Netball
ISA
Last Saturday saw the Redlands Netball Gala Day take place at Dunnet Hall. All the girls had a great day, playing in mixed teams and being led by our Yr 12 netballers. Congratulations to the Vixens who won the Grand Final, beating the Giants in a closely fought match. Thank you to the Yrs 10, 11 and 12 students for their effort and participation across the day and for making it such a fun and enjoyable experience for our departing Yr 12 netballers.
A further congratulations to our Captain of Netball, Lulu Simpson, who was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Netball this year. She is a truly deserving recipient of this award and we thank her for her dedication and commitment to the Netball program during her time at Redlands.
A reminder that the ISA Netball season has now concluded and there will be no more games or trainings for our Senior or Intermediate teams.
NSNA
A reminder that the NSNA Netball competition is continuing as planned for the rest of the season. All Yrs 7, 8 and 9 Netball teams will play this Saturday and next Saturday 5 September. NSNA is releasing the draw weekly as fixtures have had to change. This week’s draw has now been finalised and can be found on Redlands Pulse. All teams will still play at the same time as previous weeks.
Training for NSNA teams has been reduced to once per week for this week and next to minimise clashes with Summer Sport trials. All teams will train on Thursday 3 September 2.30-4.00pm at Willoughby Leisure Centre. The bus will return all teams to school at approx. 4.15pm.
Please ensure all teams regularly check their emails from Ms Howard as well as Redlands Pulse for the most up to date information regarding the Netball season. Any player absences (both training and games) need to be sent to Ms Howard prior to the game or training so that coach and supervising staff members can be informed.
Rugby
Redlands Rugby brought a close to the Rugby season over the weekend, with all players being involved in a 7s Tournament. The standard of play across the whole morning was amazing, with tries being run in from all corners of the park and some incredible try stopping defensive efforts.
In the Under 13s Matches, Rory McMillan was everywhere, with some fantastic footwork finishing off multiple try scoring efforts. Alfie Leach and Eliot Stewart were two of the standouts in the 14s, Eliot scoring a solo try right from the kickoff and Aflie ball carrying leading his team to victories in both matches. Between the 15s and 16s, Samuel Chubb and Hunter Mennie continued to shine as leaders within our program. Samuel’s quick thinking tap and gos sparking the attack and Hunter just making efforts plays in attack and defence across the whole morning.
For James Reid, our 1stXV Captain, this was his last time to lead out his team and he did not disappoint. Sparking the attack in his own matches whilst cheering from the side lines for all of the Junior matches, James was the embodiment of our program. From the whole Redlands Rugby community and program, we cannot thank James enough for his efforts this year. I would like to also thank all of the Yr 7s who stayed behind to ‘coach’ the Opens Matches. Jesse Forrest, Charlie Gordon and Harry Asby were instrumental in the flowing attack that we all got to witness in the Opens clashes.
Whilst the season has been challenging, the development of our players this season has been tremendous and I cannot wait to see what the 2021 season will bring. I would like to thank all of our students and parents for their support throughout this year.
Tennis
On Saturday, our ISA Tennis students participated in an internal doubles shoot out competition. Students had the opportunity to pair with a number of different students throughout the morning with the aim to win as many points as possible from a total of 16. It was great to see our most experienced players playing doubles with our less experienced students and having a bit of fun with it. Students playing Tennis at Lane Cove are getting ready for their finals/play off matches this weekend, while our Development Squads will be putting their match play skills to the test in a mini round robin on Saturday. Our ISA students will be taking part in the Redlands Singles Championships this week with the finals being played on Saturday 5 September.
Important Dates:
Saturday 29 August – Redlands League and Development Squads – Finals/playoffs, last Saturday and ISA Singles Championships
Tuesday 1 September – No Tennis training
Thursday 3 September – Summer Tennis starts – Training groups TBA
“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses. Dedication sees dreams come true!” Kobe Bryant
Mr Tom Kindred
Head of Secondary School Sport
sports@redlands.nsw.edu.au
All Sports contacts can be found on Redlands Pulse.