Secondary Sport
Accountability
On Tuesday afternoon I had the pleasure of listening in to our 1sts Netball team discuss their goals and aims for the season ahead (picture above). As a student led activity, it was fantastic to hear what the girls came up with and what they wanted to achieve. Interestingly one of the common themes and words they kept coming back to was ‘accountability’ and how they can be this to themselves and each other.
Accountability is often seen as one of the most common character traits found amongst successful teams and team cultures. The All Blacks, the Sydney Swans and the Australian Cricket team are all examples of teams that have accountability as a central tenant to their team culture.
Learning about accountability is one of the great lessons that sport can teach. Accountability has a lot of similar adjectives that can go with it including engagement, responsibility, integrity, intrinsic motivation or owning mistakes. However, in the end accountability is all about taking ownership of your decisions and actions in sport and in broader life. For this reason it is a character trait that is highly valued in society. Sport is one of the remaining bastions of society that teaches this trait as a valued part of success. It is very difficult to coach amongst young people; if taken too far, it can be authoritarian and lack relevance, if taken too softly it can lack authenticity and consistency. Previously, sport coaching used to have an almost military undertone, with yelling, shouting and physical discipline. The intention was to toughen people up and create a group identity. This was at the risk of excluding those who didn’t fit a certain mould for that sport or worse, that specific coach, often leading to young people leaving sport altogether. Today we are seeing a far more nuanced approach to sport in schools. Asking students to be accountable for themselves and their team is a big part of what we are trying to engender in Redlands Sport. Being accountable in Redlands Sport is about doing what you say you’re going to do and executing the task to the best of your ability. Then being able to put your hand up and say ‘this is what I need to do better’ if you don’t get it right. The deeper level to this is when team mates hold each other accountable for their roles and not just the coach. This is where the magic really happens!
Watching peers teach peers and hold each other to a higher standard is one of the most authentic and intrinsically driven motivations within a team. It shines the light on a broader sense of belonging and allows students to see their value and contribution to a greater goal.
The challenge for coaches is to allow a team to serve as the primary accountability mechanism. If the coach is the sole source of discipline, teammates assume the coach is handling accountability and hold back when they see behaviours drop. If you have had the chance to watch the series The Last Dance on Netflix you will have seen how Michael Jordan did this to his own teammates by holding them to a higher account, and calling them out if their attitude was not where he expected it.
Allowing a safe place where accountability concerns amongst peers can be addressed is vital to success. Open and transparent communication where the focus is on a greater individual performance for the greater good is integral to any team or organisations culture. However, doing this once is easy, to be consistent with behaviours and standards over a long period of time takes grit. Which is why you must have one with the other. Accountability will win games, but grit will win championships. Teaching our students to develop these skills is fundamental to the purpose of Sport at Redlands. We are developing life readiness through learning in sport based experiences, and accountability and grit are key attributes we aim to achieve. From what I see within our 1sts Netball, we are developing these clear and open processes.
Athletics
We had a great turn out on Friday afternoon at the Junior School Oval for the first Athletics sessions of the season with just over 30 students in attendance. This was a great introduction back into running with Mr Walker (Redlands Athletics Head Coach) taking the middle-distance runners through their paces and Rich Frost (Mosman Athletics Club Head Coach) taking the sprinters through some speedwork. We will continue training this Friday (5 June) afternoon on the Junior School Oval, this will go from 3.30-5.00pm. If you are interested in joining this session please email Mr Ellis. These sessions are great for students looking to improve their speed and agility and their endurance, particularly as we look towards sport resuming in Term 3.
AFL
Getting the culture right from the start.
We had a great first couple of trainings for AFL last week. It was fantastic to see the energy and positive attitude amongst the girls and boys teams as they took to the field for their first inaugural training as the first Redlands Secondary School AFL teams. The historic moment was a big step forward in the Redlands Sporting program and the students were challenged to set very high standards and expectations of AFL at Redlands for now and well into the future. Setting the tone, attitude and culture of how AFL is played at Redlands from the start is critical for the sport to continue to flourish. In this week’s trainings, students will be focusing on being held accountable as a team and learning to rely on each other to build their skills and fitness.
Training this week will be on the Junior School turf on Thursday only. There is no Saturday training this weekend due to the long weekend. In Week 7 we will be taking both teams to Gore Hill Oval (by Bus) on Thursday afternoon.
Football
It was a great morning at Gore Hill Oval where we were able to carry out the first Football session of the term. It was great to see everyone keen to get involved and kick the ball around and bust the cobwebs out. The schedule for Saturday 13 June will be available from Friday 5 June and will be emailed to students and parents and posted on Redlands Pulse – Football. We thank you all in advance for your patience and understanding as there have been a number of last-minute changes. We are trying to keep disruptions to a minimum. During Week 7 we will introduce some morning trainings and some 1st XI trainings for those interested in trying out for this team, the schedule is below:
Tuesday 9 June – Morning (6.45-8.00am) – Cammeray Park (Synthetic)
- Open Girls (Yr 11 and 12)
- 1st XI Girls (those wishing to be selected in the Girls 1st XI, you must register your interest with Ms Seebohm).
Tuesday 9 June – Afternoon (3.30-5.00pm) – Primrose Park
- Boys U15 (Yr 9)
- Boys U16 (Yr 10)
Thursday 11 June – Morning (6.45-8.00am) – Cammeray Park (Synthetic)
- Open Boys (Yr 11 and 12)
- 1st XI Boys (those wishing to be selected in the Boys 1st XI, you must register your interest with Mr Ellis).
Thursday 11 June – Afternoon (2.30-4.00pm) – Primrose Park
- Boys U13 (Yr 7)
- Boys U14 (Yr 8)
- Girls Juniors (Yr 7 and 8)
- Girls Inter (Yr 9 and 10)
We will be hosting a Friends of Football Zoom meeting on Monday 15 June from 6.00pm. If you are interested in joining this meeting please email Mr Ellis and Ms Seebohm for further details.
Rugby
Please be aware that there will be an optional training for our Under 16s and Opens Rugby this weekend. This training will be held on Saturday from 8.25am and will be finished no later than 10.00am. There will be a cap on the number of students who can attend the session so if there are spots available these will be offered to the Under 15s first.
Opens and Under 16s are required to contact the Director of Rugby so they can reserve their spot.
For weekday trainings, due to ground availability, we will still look to rotate teams through venues – all students will be emailed with adjusted training times.
Hockey
Thank you to all players for their commitment to Hockey training. It has been great to see students back out on the field in preparation for the possibility of a competition next term. Please see the schedule below for Week 7:
Year 10-12:
Tuesday 9 June: 3.30-5.00pm at the Junior School Oval
Saturday 13 June: 11.30am-12.30pm at the Junior School Oval
Year 7-9:
Thursday 11 June: 7.00-8.00am at the Junior School Oval
Saturday 13 June: 12.30-1.30pm at the Junior School Oval
A reminder that all Hockey training sessions are compulsory as a part of registering for a Winter Representative Sport. Failure to attend compulsory sessions will result in disciplinary action and will affect eligibility for pockets and awards. Absenteeism for injury or illness must be emailed to Ms Seebohm prior to the training session. All Hockey players are required to have shin pads, a mouth guard, a hockey stick and a drink bottle (as bubblers are not available for use at this time).
Non-Rep
Due to the continued closure of our non-rep providers, there will be no non-rep sport until further notice. Non-rep sports students will be dismissed from school at 2.25pm on Thursday afternoon. Upon the opening of our external providers we will resume non-rep sport where possible.
Tennis
Saturday 30 May saw all Redlands Tennis students take to the courts, many for the first time this season. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves. Just a reminder, there is no Tennis scheduled for this Saturday 6 June. Students are encouraged to book a court and have a hit with family or friends over the weekend.
“Sport teaches you character, it teaches you to play by rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose. It teaches you about life.” Billie Jean King – former world number 1 Tennis player (won 39 Grand Slams, 12 Singles, 16 Doubles & 11 Mixed Doubles).
Mr Tom Kindred
Head of Secondary School Sport
sports@redlands.nsw.edu.au
All Sports contacts can be found on Redlands Pulse.