PSA Sport

from Annual: Trinity 2014

Roll Call

Mr Stephen Leahy (’78) Director of Sport

Trinity College has maintained its status within the PSA, as a College which strives strongly to achieve sporting success, whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on participation and upholding the values associated with playing the game in the correct spirit.

The demands of fielding teams in the PSA competition become more significant each year with all the schools trying to provide as many boys as possible with the ‘PSA Experience’. When Trinity first joined the PSA in 1968, there were nine sports played and we put out 28 teams over the year – now there are 15 sports played and this year we were represented by more than 128 teams and 12 rowing crews in the Senior School alone. The challenge of providing quality competition, coaching and facilities will continue to grow.

The summer sport season involves competition in basketball, tennis, volleyball, swimming, cricket, water polo and rowing. With the smaller number of boys in the Year 12 half cohort, winning any competition in 2014 was going to be an even bigger challenge than normal. The 1st V basketball team and 1st VI volleyball team won the Blackwood Cup and the Brother Carrigg Shield respectively, each with a perfect record of six wins from six games played. The 1st VI volleyball and 1st V basketball teams have either won or been runners up in their respective competition for the last nine years. The 1st XI cricket team was unbeaten over the season with some excellent batting displays, but taking ten opposition wickets proved difficult and a number of draws resulted. The water polo, swimming and tennis teams finished mid-table as did the rowers in the Hamer Cup. The 1st VIII rowers were brave in their attempt to win the Challenge Cup but fell short of their own high expectations.

At the end of the summer season, 1st V basketball coach, Mr Andrew Osnain, and 1st XI cricket coach, Mr Rod Rainer, both stepped down from their respective positions after many years of great service and success. Both will continue their work with younger age groups. Mr Brendan Chapman, who has been a driving force in our volleyball program will be taking on a new role at Aquinas College in 2015. The College extends its appreciation to all three coaches for their contribution to the sport program.

The winter season was difficult with most of our senior teams finding victories hard to come by. The cross country team was our best performing team over the season, finishing in second place behind a strong Aquinas College outfit. The boys finished the season in style by winning the All Schools Eight Kilometre event which is traditionally held at Kings Park. Unfortunately, the remainder of our senior teams finished in the bottom half of their respective competition and were never really a consistent threat to the stronger teams. It is difficult to pin-point exactly why our results were not up to our usual standard, and it would be too simplistic to say the smaller number of Year 12 boys available each weekend led to a decline in our performances, but, as a College, we need to work together to improve on our field results next year. In several sports, we will retain more of the 2014 team than we will lose which will give the coaches a solid building block to work with. Many Year 10 boys were exposed to the demands of 1st team sport and will have a better understanding of what is required to be successful at the higher level.

Facility Report Mann Oval

The raising of Mann Oval is to eliminate the flooding which occurs every year due to the high water table. Some parts of the oval will be raised by 800mm and the project will cause significant problems for the PSA program and for teams who normally train on it. However, the benefits of the upgrade of the oval will be worth the short-term inconvenience as the College will have a more functional oval that does not have surface water on it for much of Terms 2 and 3.

New Tennis and Basketball Courts

The current tennis and basketball courts will be demolished to make way for the new double gymnasium. New courts will be built on Riverside.

New Gymnasium

The construction of the new double gymnasium will commence in 2015 and will be a huge asset to the PE and PSA sport programs. The gym will also include classrooms, a physiology lab and a weights/circuit training facility and an underground car park.

It remains for me to recognise and thank the many people who make such a contribution to the sport program at Trinity. Without the support of the teaching staff, the ground staff, the parent helpers, the College administration, external coaches and the student body, a program as large as ours would be very difficult to run. Thank you all for your contribution this year.

Mr Stephen Leahy (’78) Director of Sport