Over the last few weeks I have been lucky enough to get around and see many of the boys play their competition matches. Only last week, I spoke to the boys at our Division Meeting and commended them on their efforts.
Whether it be in the tennis, cricket or basketball that I have watched (apologies to the water polo players and swimmers who have been away each week) the boys have conducted themselves extremely well. They have been positive, friendly to their opponents and no matter the result, they have maintained an integrity for which they should be very proud.
The results have been mixed and this is always expected. The effort though has been consistently high. I could recount numerous examples that I have seen that have been impressive. A few that stick in my mind include watching Josh Carter (Carlingford) in his tennis match against a boy who was clearly distraught at the number of errors he was making. As the other boy kicked fences and did everything except that which would improve his game, Josh remained focused and came out on top.
In cricket, the sport most commonly affected when rain hits Sydney, I saw numerous teams continue to put in their best efforts despite conditions which at any other venue would have seen the match washed out. In particular the 13Bs had a loss on one of these soaking days … however, as I headed over to see them at the end of the game … you would never have known. They had a great sense of humour about the whole thing and had clearly enjoyed themselves.
Only a week later I ventured across to see the 13Cs Cricket take on Sydney High on College E. Not the largest ground in the world by any stretch of the imagination, this field is usually a batsman’s paradise which often has the Marist Fathers next door ducking for cover. On this day though, it was the bowlers who really had an impact with quite a few of our bowlers finding themselves on hat-tricks. One of the more impressive moments of this game was when our Sydney High opponents were short of fieldsmen. It was wonderful to see the Joeys boys able to join their High counterparts in the field and still give it their best effort, even though they were fielding against their own team-mates. This certainly illustrated that the boys had a wonderful understanding of what sport is all about – participation and fun!
That same week I also had the opportunity to watch the 13E cricket team play on Lower Park. They were in great spirits, despite struggling on the score board, and were clearly enjoying not only their sport but also the company of their team mates. I had to laugh at one stage as a couple of our boys were batting. I was over the other side of the field to the spectators and couldn’t help but notice what the Joeys boys who were not batting were up to. I guess they probably should have been sitting quietly watching their team mates bat, however after a long day in the field this can be difficult. I saw a group of three boys wrestling in one corner of the field and only moments later, boys pretending to eat worms in another corner. 
Every few balls, these boys would call out something encouraging to their team-mates and then go back to their other activities. What I found great about watching the boys from a distance was how relaxed and happy they were around each other after only a few weeks. It was 12 year old boys at their best!
And in the basketball … a game that I freely admit I know very little about and struggle with the pounding of balls and yelling of coaches … watching the boys across all teams each week has been very enjoyable … and for me to enjoy the basketball is a big call – but I tell no lie when I say that it has been great fun down there. I watched the 13A team come back from being down by 9 points with 7 minutes to go against Shore and to then win by 3 points – their composure and rugged determination was outstanding. Likewise the 13B team against Scots who hung on for a draw with the final basket being scored with 9 seconds to go. And only last week, I greatly enjoyed watching the 13Es who started the game slowly, giving their opponents a large lead but never gave up, scoring 3 unanswered goals during the last 5 minutes of the game. Once again – the never-give-up attitude was evident.
I have seen a lot of things that impress me at Joeys over the years and therefore, sometimes I can probably take much of this for granted. However, every so often you see something that sticks in your mind as special. I saw this on the weekend during both the 13D and 13E basketball games. The E team played first and about halfway through the game I noticed that one of the boys on the side of the court encouraging the boys was Sam McCorkindale – one of the Firsts Basketball Team. As I looked around, I noticed that indeed five of the Firsts had come down to watch the boys play. It would be so easy for the boys in the Firsts to get caught up in their own matches and forget about those around them. Instead though, they took the time to visit the lowest two teams in the school and give them genuine support. For me, this was a great way to sum up Joeys spirit!
Pictured in Photo 1: Jack Fox (Glebe) playing tennis
Pictured in Photo 2: 13Bs Cricket featuring Mac Waugh (Balmain), Tom Horton (Mosman), Eddie Yee (Paddington), Callum Dwyer (Hunters Hill), Daniel Amasi (Pymble), Julian Chan (Wahroonga), Tom Mulherin (Hunters Hill), Jack Dalton (Eastwood), Max Thomas (Ryde), Malcolm Campbell (Carlingford), Ewan Spinks(Tennyson Point)
Pictured in Photo 3: Sam Marshall (Mosman), Lincoln Mooring (Bourke) and Andre Bezuidenhout (Castlecrag)
Pictured in Photo 4: Andre Bezuidenhout (Castlecrag)
Pictured in Photo 5: Max Warn (Chatswood)
Pictured in Photo 6: 13E Basketball featuring Matt Walker (Paddington), Liam Ford (Hunters Hill), Jack Renshaw (Northbridge), Mitch Frater-Baird (Killara), Dylan Russell (Glebe), Tom Flitcroft (Epping), Harry Mansom (Hunters Hill), Lawrence Lo (Artarmon) and Beau Garland (Hunters Hill)
It has been a long standing tradition at Joeys for the boys to have a special celebration day for our Patron Saint, St Joseph. While the feast day is actually March 19th, we often celebrate the day on another day of the week.
Once we were there, it didn’t take long for the boys to get stuck into the action. While many headed to Jamberoo’s famous “Bobsled” straight away, others couldn’t resist the temptation of the water. Jumping from “The Rock” was many of the boys’ first adrenalin rush for the day.
Lunch came and went and the boys really seemed to have a ball. Seeing the boys run up the hills and slide down them again, repeating this pattern literally hundreds of times was fantastic … a boy’s heaven!
