The Catholic Weekly 14 August 2022

SPORT The 2022 Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Spring Championships have officially commenced and already the promise of fierce and ambitious competition is being upheld. Thursday 4th August marked the first week of AFL, Tennis, and Rugby 7s matches. All schools started strongly and showed unyielding energy right out of the gates. Athletes from across the Sydney Archdiocese laced up their boots for the newly formed SCS AFL competition. With a turn out of 1500 students ready to rumble, it was only natural for rivalries to formand game faces to be on from the very first siren. The AFL results from the first week sawMarcellin College Randwick got over the top of Marist North Shore in the Seniors, Rosebank College defeated Marist Sisters Woolwich in their junior girls encounter, while the intermediate girls sawHoly Spirit Lakemba secure the win over St Ursula’s College. The SCS Tennis Championship began with 84 teams slicing and serving their way around the court. The competition saw the entry of NSW top-ranked junior, Gabriella Gregoriades from Domremy Catholic College. There is no doubt that she will be one to watch. SYDNEY CATHOLIC Schools has partnered with NSW Rugby to bring you the next generation of Australi- an representatives in Rugby 7s. The elite 2022 NSW Rug- by 7s Academy Camp identi- fied and brought together 64 talented athletes from across the state to enhance skills and form lifelong sport- ing connections. The two- day, invitation-only camp kicked-off with guest ap- pearances from Rugby Leg- end Ned Hanigan who made the transition from Catholic Primary School student ath- lete to Australian Wallabies player. With mouthguard-grins across the field, Day 2 saw time dedicated to game sit- uation training. Senior Man- ager of NSW Rugby, Michael Doyle, stated “there’s a lot of talent here and it’s going to be interesting.” When asked about the pathways that come from the Academy Camp, Michael ex- plained that “there couldn’t be more opportunities,” and he wants to take the identi- fied athletes “all the way to the top!” Of the current 14 girls in the Commonwealth Games Gold medal winning 7s team, half of them have come through the NSW Rug- by system. “They started ex- actly how these students are starting today,” said Michael. Athletes were starstruck by a Q&A portion of the camp headlined by Olympic gold medal winner, Char- lotte Caslick. Alongside her were internationals Teagan Levi and Maddi Levi. “I started to work on my weaknesses rather than my strengths all the time,” Char- lotte said. Her advice to “en- joy the hard work” ignited determination for all. “I am very confident that we have just seen future Olympians hidden in the form of school students,” commented Damien Kerr, Manager of Sport at SCS. The Academy Camp and part- nership with NSW Rugby THESYDNEYCatholicSchools Football Championships set the stage for suspenseful pen- alty shootouts, and ‘once in a lifetime’ goals on the show field at Edensor Park Sydney United Sports Centre. The inaugural football day was rooted in rivalry with Jun- ior, Intermediate, and Senior boys and girls teams gracing the field. The competition was fierce, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats. Holy Cross College Ryde left it all on the field when they took on Marist Catholic College Koga- rah in the senior boys final. There were outstanding ef- forts and talent both offensive- ly and defensively. With both sides battling it out, the nil all score at the final buzzer saw the championship riding on a penalty shootout. Ryde and Sydney FC Under 21 goalkeeper, Steven Kriezis, was a stand out during the game and carried his energy into the post-time penalties. With the ball at Salvatore Cio- lino’s feet and the taste of glory in his mouth, Holy Cross were chanting their war cry with their entire school of fans mo- ments later. First XI coach, Daniel Ronchetti was in admiration of the commitment of his team in staying true to the game plan. “A teacher’s first job is to help students believe they can succeed, and then show them how”. When asked about the characteristics which led to the historic victory, Mr Ronchetti Sydney Catholic School’s fiercely competitive soccer shines at inaugural sports day ¾ Tasmyn Haynes Holy Cross Ryde to victory Partnership prepares future Aussie stars has been instrumental in the development of talent iden- tified athletes and will guide them towards future success. SOCCER ¾ Tasmyn Haynes RUGBY 7’S CAMP ¾ Tasmyn Haynes SPRING CHAMPS WEEK 1 Spring into the season of sport SCHOOL SPORTS Winning team Holy Cross (yellow) and Marist Kogarah (red) contest the ball in the Senior boys’ final. PHOTO: DOMINIC TRIMBOLI A student, above, on the Rug- by 7s academy camp partici- pates in drills station, above. Others undertake strength and conditioning testing, at left. PHOTO: DOMINIC TRIMBOLI A student from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College in Kensington sends the ball long. PHOTO: JULIE PACIFIQUE suggested that “attitude, team- work and camaraderie are the qualities which define this squad”. The intermediate girls championship was an epic fixture between Clancy Catho- lic College West Hoxton and Marist Catholic College Pen- shurst. A 35-meter screamer from Clancy was not enough to stop Marist College from claiming victory. Marist were also triumphant in the Junior boys division, while Marist Sis- ters College Woolwich won the Junior girls match. Christian Brothers’ High School Lewish- am were convincing winners in the Intermediate boys, and the Senior girls event was tak- en out by St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove. The SCS Football Champi- onships were supported by on- lookers both screaming en- couragement for players from the grandstands and yelling it at the livestream. The special moments seen at these finals will stay with athletes and be spoken about for years to come.