I remember talking to the boys way back in 2011 in the pre-commencement nights about our expectations and their parents expectations when they come to Joeys. I recall telling them that not everyone can be the best. Not everyone can be in the A team or be in the top classes. What everyone can do, however, is give their best effort. I remember saying “if you come to Joeys and give your best effort then your parents will be very proud of you and so will the College”.

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to see quite a few U13 rugby games over at Newington – something I don’t often get to do due to my own team playing. I saw a couple of wins and a couple of losses. What I was so impressed by was the way that the boys played the games. They gave one hundred percent effort and were able to display great sportsmanship in defeat and humility in victory. It was just awesome to see boys giving their best, no matter their team.

I asked Lachlan Markey (Coonamble) to write a short summary of his own team and when he sent it through to me I couldn’t help but notice the positive approach that he is showing towards the opportunities here at Joeys – exactly the approach that I remember speaking about late last year. His report is below.

The 13Ds played well as a team today. We played Scots but they were just too good for us as they had players running hard through our defensive line. During training all week we had been working on our tackling and rucking after our game against Newington. We try to play a game against the C’s each day to improve our rucking and tackling. 

I thought that the 13Ds played well as a team. Our tackling and rucking has definitely gotten better because last time we versed Scots we went down to them by about 20 points. Our try scorer for today was Mitchell Tanzer who scored two great tries (one off a penalty and one just running straight through the opposition and under the posts). Scots got the better of us, as the score was 12-29,  but I believe that if the we train hard at training then we will definitely beat them next time.

Thanks to Lachlan for a very positive approach to his sport and it certainly appears that the boys are moving forward step by step. This is all we can ask and indeed they are doing us very proud.

Photo 1:  Darcy Lyne (East Roseville) gets in front of his Newington opponent in the line-out.

Photo 2: Adrian Ang (Artarmon) gives the blunt “don’t argue” to the Scots defence.

Football is a growing sport at the College and one in which many of our Year 7 boys are contributing very positively to. I have to be honest, my own abilities in football were always very limited and while I don’t have the greatest understanding of the game, the skill that football players display continue to amaze me!

These skills were on full display as the whole school gathered at Lower Park last Saturday to witness our First XI Football claim victory over Sydney Grammar School to put them on top of the GPS ladder.

Our Year 7 boys have sharpened their own skills throughout the season and are working hard to continue to build the fine traditions that football have established since winning the inaugural GPS soccer competition back in the 1980s. We have a diverse group of sportsman – many who have played rep football and others who have never played before. Keeping this in mind, their successes and effort throughout the first half of the season has been impressive.

Below is a short report from one of our football players, Joseph Lawman (Seaforth).

Football at Joeys is a rapidly growing sport where the coaches are fantastic and help us improve all our skills and achieve the very best we can.  In the under 13s there are three teams, and this year Joeys has the biggest number of football players in the last four years.  The coaches are all fun but they also know when to be serious.

We do a variety of things that involve fitness (sprints, stamina, with soccer balls), skills (passing, dribbling and advanced tactics), games (against higher and lower teams as well as  games we have invented) and tactics for days when it is raining. We train three or four times a week and this keeps us strong against our opponents giving them a decent challenge each week.

All of the players in my team get along being led by Fred Maher (Cherrybrook) captain of the 13A team and I’m sure that each of the other teams are being led by their captains very well too. Currently this season we are doing well, having achieved both wins and losses. Our coaches work extremely hard to make sure we can be competitive against all the other GPS teams and we thank them very much for their effort.

Thanks to Joseph for a nice wrap up of what the football players are up to each week and we wish them all the best of luck as they take on Sydney Boys High School this coming weekend – one of the toughest of the GPS schools.

Photo 1: Michael Beynon (Marsfield) taking on his Sydney Grammar School opponent at Tarban Creek.

Photo 2: Charlie Gibson (Lane Cove) protects his team’s goal.

Photo 3: Matthew Snaidero (North Ryde), Ben Wilson (East Ryde), James Wall (Lane Cove North), James Der (Hunters Hill) and Michael Beynon (Marsfield) enjoy each other’s company at the conclusion of their game.

During the winter months, Rugby and Football are certainly the two sports which our boys participate in with the greatest numbers. In fact, there may be some in our community who don’t know a great deal about our third winter GPS sport that runs during this time of the year. In Year 7 we have two boys who represent us in the official GPS Cross Country competition. Each week they head off to different venues around Sydney to compete in a gruelling race with up to 200 other competitors – just in their age group.

Jack Ridal (Mosman) and Rory McHugh (Pennant Hills) represent us in the Junior Division of Cross Country and always do so giving their best effort. Below is a short report written by Jack after his race on Saturday.

In Cross Country we have two days of training a week. Training consists of either hopping on the bus and driving to a track or just running to a random location about 5 kilometers away then running back again.

We’re ranked in age rather than ability in Cross Country and Rory and I run with the Year 8 boys. This makes it a little annoying this season because when we run, the top 50 is usually filled with older boys. But this also means there’s no chance of getting dropped! I guess next season we’ll be at a bit of an advantage.

On Saturday, the bus leaves around 8:30am so we have enough time to walk the course and warm up. The course that we run is usually around two and a half kilometres so by the time we walk it and then run it we do about five kilometres.

I can’t really describe what I feel when I’m running, you don’t really feel the burning muscles or how hot or cold it is. You just run, every thing else just disappears, its sorta weird. Any way theres always mars bars, choc chip muffins and water bottles at the end so I guess its all worth it.

Thanks to Jack for giving us a little insight into how the Cross Country sport works and we certainly wish them luck in the coming few weeks of competition ahead.

Photo 1: Jack Ridal (Mosman)

Photo 2: Rory McHugh (Pennant Hills)

Today saw the boys have their first big day out with the whole school when they attended the AAGPS Head of the River. This is always a big day and although not a super long day, the weather always adds its own challenges.

And so we gathered on the back ovals early this morning where the boys donned the sunscreen and met up with their Year 11 buddies again. Having met their buddies a week earlier, traveling with them on the bus to Penrith was a great chance to get to know them a little better.

When everyone was successfully paired up, we headed to the Sydney International Rowing Centre at Penrith – the rowing course that was purpose built for the Sydney Olympics. The Head of the River this year was held a few weeks earlier than usual and as a result there was always a risk that the day was going to be a warm one. We certainly weren’t left wondering and the sun was in full strength.

To the boys’ credit, they were superb in many ways. They were dressed impeccably, contributed to the cheering and behaved exceptionally well. With mixed results on the course the boys maintained the Joeys spirit that many of us have become accustomed to and showed great support to the boys competing, no matter the results of the races.

As you can see from the photo, although only on the banks for a few hours, the day certainly took it out of the boys – let’s just say a quieter trip home than that on the way there! I’m not complaining about that!!!

Back at school, the boys had a little bit of free time before heading down to their first sports rally. Although backing up from a hot and tiring day on the banks of the river, the boys put in a very pleasing effort to welcome the rowers back to the school.

Well done to all for an excellent effort in very warm conditions.

Photo 1: Lucas Mendez (Beecroft) and Liam Hamilton (Drummoyne) on the banks of the Sydney International Rowing Centre.

Photo 2: Oscar Skinner (Roseville), Tom Small (Willoughby) and Charlie Nicholas (East Ryde) make the most of some down-time on the bus.

Today we had our College athletics carnival at the park and we were lucky enough to somehow dodge the recent terrible weather, making it through the day without being hit with any rain.

The boys still attended the first two periods of the day and then the school moved to the oval for the annual event which pits mate against mate as they compete for their colour house.

Last week at our Division Meeting I had spoken to the boys about getting involved and making the most of the opportunities at the carnival. I pointed out that it would be very easy to just run the compulsory events and then sit and watch the others. I challenged the boys to try and compete as much as possible in the optional events and it was wonderful to see them take up this challenge.

The picture at the top of this blog is the start of the 800m race – an event which was open to all the boys. As you can see, there were lots of boys keen to give it a go and in fact more boys ran in the U13s 800m and 15000m race than any other age group. When it came to the field events, every single available spot was filled and very competitive. This is an indication of how committed the Year 7 boys were to getting involved and giving things a go!

Each boy in Year 7 ran in the 100m as well as the 400m and I was so pleased to see them being sensible and really giving it their best effort. We know (and are indeed very proud) that we have a diverse group of boys here at Joeys with talents in various facets of life. All we ask for is that the boys give things a go and do so with their best effort – I know that our boys in Year 7 certainly did this today!

When it comes to the boys who have a particular talent in athletics, congratulations go to James Hill (Abbotsford) who contributed the most points to his colour house in Year 7. Likewise, special mention should also go to Lachlan Champley (Umina Beach) who came in with the second most number of points for his team.

A big commendation to all the boys in Year 7 who arrived at the carnival impeccably dressed and contributed to the success of the carnival.

Photo 1: Fred Maher (Cherrybrook) clears the bar in the high jump.

Photo 2: Owen Vella (Chatswood), Joseph Canning (Wentworth Falls), Tyrone Janson Ho (Greenwhich), Matthew Sally (West Pennant Hills), Tom McGregor (Manly Vale), Matthew Mackenzie (Sutton Forest) and Felix Habib (Balmain) begin to stride out in the 100m heats.

Photo 3: Matthew Spillane (Hunters Hill), Ben Junee (Hunters Hill) and David Kidd (Connels Point) push each other in the 200m event.