Please see a variety of articles written by our Middle School Winter Sport coaches from Term 2. Thank you to all our parents, volunteers, coaches and students for their time and commitment to the PSA program. We look forward to further fixtures and engaging contests against the other PSA Schools in Term 3.
This season, the Middle School Badminton team performed incredibly
well. We had teams win games against Christ Church, Guilford, Scotch,
Hale and Trinity at various levels. All Badminton teams committed to
training, showing up for their teammates and training hard.
Congratulations on an excellent start to the season, boys.
Aquinas has performed admirably in Middle School Cross Country this year despite having reduced team membership. The season has been very equal across competing PSA schools, with each Friday event open to victory. Aquinas has beaten all competing schools, except Trinity. There have been some great individual performances from Oliver Perkis, Declan Connell and Edmond Whyte. However, the improvement in fitness and speed in all of the runners has been the greatest accomplishment to witness.
The Year 8 Football group has seen great success across all grades. 32 players have put their hand up and performed strongly in the A’s thus far, with many more knocking down the door for an opportunity. The boys have come a long way from the beginning of the season, with a notable change in their attitude, effort, and commitment towards improving their craft at training. Furthermore, many young leaders have emerged from the group, leading from the front, whether it be at training or on game day.
The A’s have performed strongly, having won against all PSA schools in the first half of the season. In the last two games, they have been tested, going down by less than 10 points to Scotch and Trinity. This group has been tasked with playing at least two different positions per match to work on both the offensive and defensive aspects of their game. Although this has put many of the boys out of their comfort zone playing in positions they are not typically used to, they have relished the challenge and taken it head-on. It is hoped that the Year 8’s continue to give their absolute everything at training and in games throughout Term 3 and see a strong finish to the end of the season.
Hockey in Middle School at Aquinas has had lots of successes, from developmental approaches throughout training to performances on Friday afternoons. A new coaching approach with combining Year 8s & 9s together has made for a great environment for all individuals to be stretched and challenged to develop their game. The Year 7 group have made some big strides forward, getting better as a team every week. A number of Middle School students have also worked their way into the 1st team training and selection contention. We are excited to see what the future brings for the current Year 7, 8 & 9 Hockey cohort.
Middle School Rugby this year was very promising with great numbers down at the first training session at the beginning of season. We started the season off with a great win against Trinity College that proved promising for the season going forward. Largely we have had a successful season with only a loss or two. Hopefully, the boys stay together in the coming years here at the College and will provide a strong base of players for Rugby. It's been a privilege to see the development of these boys across this season and I look forward to seeing them grow as individuals within the sport.
8A’s soccer has enjoyed a very competitive 2021 season thus far. Nearly 20 players have started games for Aquinas 8A’s team, highlighting the strength in depth of the squad. Chipalo Katwishi-Ng’Andwe has led the team with his exemplary attitude, motivating and encouraging his teammates to do the same. All boys have shown great hunger, humility and sportsmanship all season. Having experienced both strong wins and narrow losses, the 8A’s team spirit and behaviour serve as a great example for other Aquinians to follow.
We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land of our schools. We are inspired and nurtured by their wisdom, spirituality and experience. We commit ourselves to actively work alongside them for reconciliation and justice. We pay our respects to the Elders; past, present and future. As we take our next step we remember the first footsteps taken on this sacred land.
CRICOS Code: 00428E
