Sports Bulletin – Issue 4, 14 March 2024

This weekend is the culmination of Trimester 1 Sports with the final round versus St Peters Lutheran College.
To all 900 plus students engaged this term, I wish you the very best in your final round of competition for 2024.

A special mention to our Year 12 Seniors playing their final matches in the green and gold. I hope the journey has been enjoyable and we, as a community, have helped you strive, learn and grow through your participation in Sport at Villanova College. Very best wishes for your final outing this weekend.

On the horizon is Trimester 2 Sports which commence with Football (Soccer) trials from Monday 18 March. With a busy few weeks approaching the end of term, students and families are reminded to stay up to date with all Sport communications via the Villa App and website Locker Room Overview page. On the Locker Room page just scroll down until you see the Weekly Fixtures/Draw section and keep scrolling.

Draw – Round 7, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March
Round 7 vs St Peters Lutheran College – is now available on the Locker Room page.
The draw will be posted to Locker Room by the Wednesday prior to the round ahead.
This is the earliest possible time we can post this information.

Sports Club – Canteen Volunteers
There will be canteens operating in the Villa Park grandstand and in Goold Hall this Saturday 16 March.
Please pop in, say hello and offer your assistance. On behalf of the Sports Club, we appreciate your support.

Round 6 Results

AFL Round 6

Cricket Round 6

 Volleyball Round 6  

Trimester 2 Sport Sign-Ons
Registrations for Trimester 2 Sports are now closed.

If you did not register your son, he must now visit the Sports Department to collect a “Late Registration Form.’ This form must be taken home, completed, signed by both student and parent, and returned to the Sports Office, prior to the student being added to a Sport. Failure to follow this process may result in non-selection for the upcoming season.

Team Lists
Team lists do not appear online. They appear in the Parent Lounge and Student Cafe sections of the portal. Team lists will be posted by Thursday prior to the round ahead. This is the earliest possible time we can post this information.

AIC Draw 2024
Please find attached the AIC Draw for 2024.

Communications
Families are reminded to access all Sport information via the Villanova College website and the Villanova College App. The Locker Room tab provides updated information regarding training schedules and current AIC/trial draws.

Training Schedules
For all updated information regarding training and selection trials schedules, please visit the Locker Room page of the Villanova College website. Sport specific training schedules for AFL, Cricket and Volleyball can also be found on the Locker Room page.

The Term 2 training schedule (which will commence in Week 9, Term 1) is below. Please note the schedule below is for Weeks 9 and 10, Term 1 only.

Term 2 Training Schedule – Weeks 9 and 10 Term 1 only.

The Term 2 Training schedule for Weeks 1-8, Term 2 will be available next week.

Term 2 Training Schedule – Weeks 1-8, Term 2

Chess players, please refer to the training schedule below. These sessions commence from

Chess Training Schedule 2024

Villa Park pick-ups – Football & Rugby
Football and Rugby trials commence at Villa Park from Week 9, Monday 18 March. Football on Monday’s and Wednesday’s, Rugby on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.

Transport for all players is organised ‘one-way’ from the College to Villa Park straight after school. Buses will depart Sixth Avenue promptly from 3:05pm. All buses will be supervised by a Villa staff member/coach.

Parents are reminded to please collect their son/s from Villa Park between 5:00-5:15pm. A staff member will be on site until all students are collected. The hope is that we do not need to ask our staff to remain past 5:15-5:30pm at the latest. We appreciate your consideration here.

Save the dates – Easter Holidays Skills Clinics Thursday 4 and Friday 5 April – Football & Rugby
The Sports Office invites all interested students from Year 5-10 to participate in the inaugural Easter skills clinics for Rugby & Football (Soccer).

These clinics are open to all ability levels, with a range of coaches in both disciplines. Players from our A/B teams through to our lower teams and students beginning in each sport are invited to attend. The details for this event are listed below.

Date:  Thursday 4 & Friday 5 April 2024
Times:  Arrive 8.45am for 9am start – 12pm (each day)
Venue:  Villanova Park, Manly Road, Tingalpa
Cost:  Single day – $70 (either Thursday or Friday), both days – $130 (made payable via Parent Lounge)
Uniform:  Sport specific clothing including boots or playing shoes, sunscreen, hat, water bottle etc. Students participating in the Rugby Camp will not be permitted to participate without a mouthguard. Students are welcome to wear Villa sports uniform or casual sports clothes.

Please click on the link below to register. Registrations close Wednesday 27 March.

Payment (via Parent Lounge) must be received by Wednesday 27 March.

Easter Rugby & Football Skill Clinics – 2024 – Register here.

Save the date – Football trial matches versus Churchie, Easter Holidays Saturday 13 April.
In the Easter holidays, on Saturday 13 April, all “2nds/A” level Football teams will have trial games versus Churchie. The games will be played at Churchie (Oaklands Pde, East Brisbane). See timings below.

Once teams are selected, students will be invited to attend the trial game in the holidays via a JotForm. If players are unavailable due to being away (which is understandable and won’t influence selections), B/C players will be invited to fill the gaps.

Second XI – 2pm kick-off
Third XI vs Churchie 11A – 2pm kick-off
10A – 2pm kick-off
9A – 12:30pm kick-off
8A – 12:30pm kick-off
7A – 12:30pm kick-off
6A – 11:30am kick-off
5A – 11:30am kick-off

Save the dates – Sporting Tours, Camps and Clinics

• Firsts Rugby Camp – Sunshine Coast Recreation Centre – 7-10 April 2024.
• Firsts Football Tournament – The Southport School – 8-12 April 2024.
• Football & Rugby training clinics all year levels – Villa Park – Easter holidays, 4-5 April 2024.
• St Augustine’s College Tour – Sydney – 17-19 June 2024.
• Rugby League Confraternity Carnival – Townsville – 22-29 June 2024.
• Xmas holidays 2024/2025 – Cricket Oblate Tour to Perth & Volleyball AVSC Tournament Gold Coast.
• ** International Tour ** – Football & Rugby Tour to Japan – Easter 2025.
• ** International Tour ** – Basketball & Volleyball Tour to USA – Xmas holidays 2025/2026.

Sport Uniforms
Families are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Villanova College Uniform Look Book. This information is found on the College website Uniform Shop page. Opening hours for the Uniform Shop can also be found here. All students selected in AIC teams are expected to wear the correct uniform for AIC fixtures each week.

For those students preparing for Trimester 2 Sports – please see correct uniforms below.

Hire Jerseys – Term 1 AFL and Volleyball
In Term 1 hire jerseys for AFL and Volleyball, will need to be returned to the Uniform Shop before the end of Term 1.

Jerseys not returned by the end of Term 1 incur a late fee charge on the student’s account. The deadline of the end of Term 1 (last day of term – Thursday 28 March) is strict. All hire jerseys must be returned by then to avoid the late fee charge.

The late fees are as follows:

• AFL jersey – $100
• Volleyball jersey – $100

Students must have the full correct uniform, including hire jersey, for all AIC matches.

Sport Contact List
If you are requiring information about a specific Sport, in the first instance, visit the website Locker Room page. If you need further clarification, please contact the relevant Coordinator below. For any training or game absences, please contact your Sport Coordinator.

Director of Sport – Shaun McLean, smclean@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC AFL Coordinator – Matt Conlan, mconlan@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cricket Coordinator – Chris Everding, ceverding@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Swimming Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobs@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Volleyball Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cross-Country Coordinator – Brian Pascoe – bpascoe@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Chess Coordinator – Kath Underhill, kunderhill@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Football Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Rugby Union Coordinator – Chris Everding, ceverding@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Golf Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Basketball Coordinator – TBC – contact the Director of Sport
AIC Rugby League Coordinator – Alex Russell, arussell@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Tennis Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Track & Field Coordinator – Anthony Kemp, akemp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Water Polo Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobs@vnc.qld.edu.au
Composite District Sport – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
Lytton District Sport – Chris Everding, ceverding@vnc.qld.edu.au

Wet weather cancellations
If there is any reason to cancel training sessions or weekend games, this information will be posted to the Villa App in the Notices section. Please ensure you have downloaded the Villa App and updated your preferences and settings.

The Villa Sports Department will endeavour to cancel morning training sessions by 6am and afternoon training sessions by 1pm. If a training session is cancelled, boys are not able to be dropped off to the training venue as there will not be supervision present. Please check the Villa App regularly for these notifications.

If any AIC fixtures are cancelled, we will follow the same procedure above. Timing will be dependent on when that information becomes available.

Mr Shaun McLean, Director of Sport

The First XVIII and Second XVIII Open AFL teams had great matches last Friday winning both games at Iona College.
Overall the weekend was in our favour with 10 victories and 4 defeats across all year levels.

Best of luck to our Year 12 Seniors who play their final AFL game for the College this weekend.

Mr Matt Conlan, AFL Coordinator

First XVIII AFL
The First XVIII ventured to Iona College for Round 6 of the Open AIC AFL season.

Rhys Doman and Jacob Nagel both mad their debut’s for the Leaping Wildcats. Jacob showed his great athleticism covering plenty of ground throughout the game. Rhys played an exceptional game in defence marking the ball a number of times as the last man in defence thus saving certain points.

The games for both the First’s and Seconds were highly competitive. It was pleasing to see the positive intent and effort and ongoing improvement shown by both teams allowing them both to record a win against Iona College.

This week the Leaping Wildcats travel to Yeronga AFC and the schedule is,

• 4 pm – Second XVIII v St Peter’s Lutheran College First XVIII
• 5 pm – First XVIII v Ambrose Treacy College

The Leaping Wildcats have been humbled this season by the level of support shown by the Villanova community, thank you!

Mr Brian Pascoe, First XVIII AFL Head Coach

Last Saturday’s fixtures against Iona College were played in good spirit and were very competitive as expected. The 9As went down in a thriller, losing on the last ball of the match. Similarly the 8Bs went down to the wire and we again just missed out. The First XI were very brave chasing 238 to win and really gave Iona a scare, falling 20 runs short. Overall, Villa won 16 games against Iona and lost 8. This is a great result for Villa and the Year 10s and 7s led the way winning all of their matches.

This weekend sees the final round of cricket against St. Peter’s. Please be aware that there are many supplementary matches against many Colleges this week, including a number of internal matches to finish off the season. Please encourage your sons to approach their coach in their own time and say thank you. We have had a lot of Old Boys come back to the College and give their time to the young boys. From all accounts they have really developed a positive rapport with the boys, and this has made for an enjoyable experience for all.

A number of teams will be trying to finish off the season strongly with wins and finish on top of the table. The 10As are undefeated along with the 6As and we have a number of teams looking to lock in a second-place finish; First XI, Third XI, 10B, 8A and 7B.

Good luck to all teams this Saturday. Finish the season off well.

Mr Chris Everding, Cricket Coordinator

First XI Cricket
Our First XI team were at home for the last time this season for our Round 6 match against the undefeated Iona College. The teams focus on Saturday was about having no regrets and to be willing to take the game as long as possible. The day started with a special and proud moment with student Samuel Pauli becoming First XI cricketer #500, he was presented his cap in front of his parents from 10A coach Mr Michael Dann. Congratulations Samuel.

Iona won the toss and decided to bat on a very good-looking pitch, Iona have set the standard all season with their batting, so our bowling and fielding needed to be at the highest of standards. Our bowling group once again set a great standard early by keeping the pressure on the Iona top order to have them at 1-65 at the first drinks break. Joey Watson (1-35) bowled tightly with support from Lachlan Whaites (1-31), while Sam Pauli (1-40) picked up his first wicket in First XI. The Iona batters controlled their innings and were always turning over the score. The pick of the Villanova bowlers was Zac Joyce who finished with figures of 1-30 from his 10 overs. Iona ended up with 238 from their 50 0vers. This was a score that as a team we felt was well within sight on what had showed to be a friendly batting pitch.

Our batting innings started nicely with Zac Joyce (18) hitting some early boundaries and we were on par at the first drinks break. Unfortunately, Iona kept applying pressure which resulted in us losing wickets regularly to be 6-95. However, our motto of not giving up and no regrets showed as Lewis McMahon (35) came to the crease and batted superbly to produce a “90 run partnership” with Captain Finn Thallon (88) which had us well and truly in the game with only 10 overs to play. Finn Thallon led from the front and kept hitting boundaries and the game was set for a thrilling finish, but then Iona showed why they’re a strong team this season by getting regular breakthroughs with the scoreboard pressure on their side. We were eventually bowled out for 205, as coach – I was so proud of the whole team and for the fight that they showed all match and for having that “never give up” attitude.

Even though we lost the match, it was one of our best “overall team performances” of the season and we must give credit to Iona who are a very good cricket team who have now secured the First XI Cricket premiership.

This Saturday is our last match of the season against SPLC. We will be looking to finish the season on a high with a win which would secure the team second place on the ladder, while sending out our outgoing year 12 cricketers with a memorable experience in their last match for Villanova Cricket.

Good luck to all Villanova sporting teams in RD7.

Mr Nathan Dufty, First XI Head Coach

Congratulations to all swimmers, supporters and coaches of the 2024 AIC Swim Team.

This year we saw another very successful swimming season finishing in third place behind some very tough competition in both the Junior and Senior competition.  Throughout the day, the boys gave their best, with many amazing personal bests despite many of them having very short turn arounds between multiple events on the day.  While we were not as far ahead of fourth place as last year, we did have to make last minute adjustments due to injuries in some of our swimmers.
While I wish that every boy who trained could secure a championship event, it simply doesn’t work that way.

For those that love statistics:

Villa finished

• First in 13 events
• Second in 19 events
• Third in 29 events
• Fourth in 21 events

This equates to our swimmers finishing in the top three in 50% of the events, and top four in 67% of the events.  When competing against the likes of St Peter’s, Marist and Iona, this is powerful swimming which shows how much work the swimmers and coaches have put into preparing the swimmers. While it is wonderful to give the accolades to the winners, it is equally important to recognise all the boys, who swam personal bests, or stepped up at the last minute to replace injured swimmers.  The results are a team effort, and each swimmer was pushed to qualify for their event by every other swimmer in their age group.

Particular congratulations go to the following boys who achieved a first place in their event.
Lachlan Rees –50m Backstroke
Lachie Mathieson – 50m Backstroke
Harrison Bligh – 50m Freestyle
Nate Economides – 50m Freestyle
Charlie Kerr – 50m Butterfly
Hugh Maclellan – 50m Backstroke
Will Gregory – 50m Butterfly
Isaac Haywood – 50m Butterfly
Harry Taylor – 50m Breaststroke
Oliver Howe – 50m Freestyle
Boris Vukelic – 50m Freestyle
Preston Webster – 50m Freestyle
12 Years B div Freestyle relay – Arthur Kirjan, Nick Bruce, Jed Normington and Eddie Gregory.

Special mention should also be made of Tyler Schafer.  While many of our best swimmers had five or six events on the day.  Tyler Schafer swam in seven events, including the open 200m IM against the Year 12 boys many of whom were three or four years older than him.  Tyler came fourth in that race, having stepped up at a time when we needed him to, without complaint and showing true team spirit and commitment to the team.  Caleb Johnston also swam up an age group in the 200m Freestyle and finished a very strong fourth place.  Other boys who stepped up to swim out of age group and training included Charley Hegarty and  Forbes Hardy from the 16 years age group who swam the 400m Open Freestyle and Ben Crawford took on the 100m Butterfly on the day.   Thank you to all of these boys for meeting the challenge and supporting your team.

Thank you also to the Open swimmers for your support and leadership this year in the pool at training and at the preparation meets- Sam Clayton, Tyler Clelland, Ben Crawford, Oliver Heijo-Coogans, Lachlan James, Charlie Kerr, Tom Maakestad, Andy Masson, Luke Patterson and Dan Walding – each swam for the final time for Villanova.  I hope that you have enjoyed your time swimming with the school, we have appreciated your efforts.  George Moran and Joseph Neil, assisted enormously on the day with the general support of the swimmers, gear, and marshalling of the swimmers to the relay room, while Joe Grigson and Patrick McIlwain worked with the spirit committee keeping up the noise and support from the crowd.  Dan Walding and the other leaders of the squad performed their duties with humility and great sense of responsibility.  Each boy rose to the challenge on the day and are to be congratulated for their efforts.

Finally, I wish to express a personal thank you to the coaching and support team.  Shaun McLean has accepted the barrage of emails and messages about the squad for the season and supported the team with a great deal of patience and kindness.  Thank you for the assistance, and for helping keep me sane on some very busy mornings.  Theresa Henry, Melissa Liddy and Terri Dillon continue to work with the squad each morning and at the preparation meets.  It is our job to ensure the safety and well-being of the swimmers as well as to marshal, time keep and record.  Thank you for your continued support and care of the swimmers.  It is very much appreciated.  Felipe Rojas, Nick Foley, Craig Tobin were our coaches this year, and despite losing some of our strongest swimmers from the squad they managed to secure third place for the second year.  This is a testament to the ongoing development of depth in the squad while encouraging the boys to work hard in the pool and support their school.  We look forward to continuing the relationship with the Langlands Pool coaching staff going forward and to the implementation of new and different ways to encourage involvement in swimming and improving on this year’s result.  The other assistant coaches for the season included Dan Walding, Oliver Jacobs, Ben Landers with Tyler Schafer and Caleb Johnston and Isaac Bowen.  These boys would stay behind after their own training session to work with the squad and help build the relationships between the older and younger students.

We look forward to building a better and stronger team for 2025.  See you in the water in Term 4!

Mrs Juanita Jacobs, Swimming Coordinator

It was certainly a tough round on the court for our volleyball teams this past weekend. Iona proved to be a very tough opponent. Whilst our final results didn’t look the greatest on the Scoreboard, I was proud of the effort and intent of all our teams. In the face of a tough challenge, we stuck to representing the Villanova style of Volleyball.

Along the same line, our First VI Volleyball team went down to a very strong Iona First VI. The first loss for our boys came 3 sets to 1, after an intense first set victory, the Iona attack proved to be a too strong and they wrapped up the remaining three sets. Whilst it is a sombre feeling to record our first loss, the entire coaching team are proud of the effort, commitment and determination put in by the team to get to that moment. The team will be hard at work again this week in preparation for round 7 vs St Peter’s.

For Round 7, our Junior teams play their final game at home and the Senior teams are off to St Peter’s. Can I remind our junior teams of their duty requirements (schedule below).

For families making the trek to St Peter’s this weekend, St Peter’s are hosting ‘Orange Round,’ an event/fundraiser held in support of leukemia research. If possible, please support this cause, proceeds from the canteen sales will contribute.

Best of luck to all teams this Saturday!

Mr Todd Kropp, Volleyball Coordinator

Our Thursday Junior School chess club sessions continue to draw good crowds.
Thank you to all who have registered to play chess next term. If you have not yet done this, you may be able to still register if you go see Mr Kropp in the Sports Office.

Selection for teams can only be done properly if we have full attendance at training sessions. Please find below the times and venues for the different age groups.

I wish to welcome our wonderful Chess Manager/ Coaches below and thank them in advance for their time and patience with their teams. We have our first trial round on Friday 22 March against St Laurence’s at St Laurence’s, so the next week will be vital to forming teams for then. Please take note of times and venues.

Finally I wish to share some exciting news with you of our very own year 8 student Jackson Waldie, who competed at the Nudgee Chess Tournament on 3 March. Undefeated by winning a staggering  7 out of 7 games, Jackson proudly took out the Intermediate Championship. It was the second time Jackson has taken out an intermediate division event, but his first time winning every match. Photo below, congratulations Jackson!

Mrs Kath Underhill, Chess Coordinator

Hi Running Wildcats,
The effort and intent shown at training thus far for all runners has been great, well done boys.

Throughout the cross-country season there are three scheduled training sessions each week. These sessions are intended to be difficult and challenge you.
The three sessions we undertook last each week included,

• Session 1 (Tuesday) – Fartlek session – offers an effective and efficient form of endurance conditioning examples include.

1. Four-minute Fartlek session – 4 x (30 seconds steady, 20 seconds hard, 10 seconds very hard) with the student completing 3 or 4 sets.

• Session 2 (Thursday) – Interval session – we use structured interval training workouts and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to build speed and endurance.

1. 1 km Effort (E), 3-minute Rest Interval (RI), 500m E, 3 min RI, 1 km E 5 min RI, 1 km E 3 min RI, 500 m E.

• Session 3 (Friday) – Time trial – can help you run faster and longer, as well as preparing you for performing under race conditions.

1. 2 km Time trial

We look forward to having each runner in the team, become the best runner he can be. Dedication to training especially when no one is watching, is a key habit that enable a team, and an individual, to grow in character.

I also encourage boys participating in field sports such as Rugby Union, Football or AFL to join a session or two to improve your fitness so you can perform better in your chosen sport.

However, I suggest members of the ‘Running Wildcats’ include longer runs throughout the week or participate in Parkruns.

The longer run sessions are intended to benefit and improve aerobic fitness and endurance. They can also be used to enhance recovery and using the sessions suggested following contact sport or intense training to flush lactate etc, they can be used to assist you to reach your optimal performance. The pace you start the longer runs at should be the pace you finish with. If you are running with a mate, you should be able to be able to say a few words to each other now and then to keep your motivation and keep the run to an enjoyable pace. By the time you are finished, you should recover quickly and feel great about the run you just did.
Please find below four examples of long run sessions;

Alternatively, the Parkruns are highly beneficial for racing practice. The AIC cross-country season has few chances to race, and it is an important skill to practice. So, I challenge all members of the cross-country squad to attend Parkruns with the view to optimise your ability to race.

However, if playing other sports in conjunction with your cross-country training please seek guidance from one of the coaches so you do not overtrain and detract from your ability and compromise your health and safety.

Warm regards, Brian

Mr Brian Pascoe, Cross-Country Coordinator

Tennis training for invited students in our 2024 Tennis First Squad commenced on Tuesday 5^th March, 6:00-7:30pm at Morningside Tennis Centre, and continue on Tuesday evenings through to the end of Term. Invitations to this squad have been emailed to students and families last week.

Mr Nathan Dufty, Tennis Coordinator

For those students in Years 5-8 who have registered for Speed & Agility Training, these sessions continue on Monday mornings. Registrations have now closed for Term 1.
Term 2 registrations will be available soon. See details and flyer below for Term 2. Note sessions will move to Friday mornings, from Weeks 2-9.
Speed & Agility training for all sports term 2. Teaching technique, change of direction and speed work to excel in your chosen sport.
Dates/ times: Week 2 / Friday morning / 7 – 8am
Location: Whinstanes Oval
Registration: Parents Lounge
See flyer attached for all other information. Further information and payment details will be available soon via the Villa App, website and College newsletters.

Speed & Agility – Years 5,6,7,8 – Flyer

For students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12, there are “free” Speed & Agility sessions on Wednesday mornings, 7-8am on Whinstanes, commencing in Week 2.
These sessions are free of charge and open to any boys in Years 9-12.

Please note achievements that have already been posted to the College’s social media platforms will not also be displayed in the newsletter.

Criteria for social media posts are generally achievements reaching a National level of representation or success/leadership of State level teams (e.g. selection in an Australian team). Or significant achievements on parallel with this.

Criteria for newsletter posts are generally achievements reaching a State level of representation (e.g. selection in a QLD team). Club, Met East or Composite representation does not meet the criteria for newsletters.

Please send all newsworthy stories to smclean@vnc.qld.edu.au.

And always remember; kids sport is meant to be fun…