Sport Program 2015

Dear students, staff and families of Ambrose Treacy College

In 2015 we will realise our dream of opening Ambrose Treacy College, and the world of new opportunities that will be available for the boys of ATC. This new beginning will see the start of a sporting program that by necessity as well as desire will step outside the traditional boys school sporting structures and will offer the boys of ATC the chance to realise their own personal excellence in their chosen areas of sport at ATC.

Boys by their nature are very competitive and a good sporting program needs to provide opportunity for boys to compete in authentic and challenging environments. We will offer competition in school, club and community con-texts, with each playing an integral role in a holistic and comprehensive sporting program that allows boys to pur-sue their own sporting dreams whilst developing a tribal culture of school pride and an engagement in lifelong phys-ical activity.

For school sport competition, we will be playing full seasons of invitational games against a variety of Colleges, rang-ing from those whom we have traditionally played against and a number of other Colleges who share our values and passion for boys sport. It is important that our community understands that as we grow over the next 5 years to become a Year 4 – 12 school we do not fit comfortably into an existing competition.

However, over the past 12 months we have been engaged in conversations with individual schools who are excited about the opportunity to engage with Ambrose Treacy College across a variety of sporting contexts. In Cricket, Football and Rugby in particular we are currently finalising draws during Term 1, Term 2 and Term 3 respectively, which include full school rounds against our EREA counterparts Gregory Terrace and Nudgee College as well as a number of other Colleges to develop full nine round school sport seasons.

In many existing competitions in the greater Brisbane area, disparities exist in terms of numbers of teams entered into different sports by schools within a competition. In these instances, opportunities are available for fixtures to be scheduled in what is known as a ‘supplementary draw’ and can include schools across a number of competitions. We are excited about these opportunities and are confident that they will provide a quality competitive environ-ment for the boys of Ambrose Treacy College. Whilst we are not officially part of a competition, this aspect of our sporting program will not be dissimilar to our current structure, in terms of draws, competition format and organi-zational structures.

The traditional championship sports of Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics will be more representative of a team sport season; rather than build for a single championship event, we have identified a number of quality op-portunities throughout each season where boys will be able to compete in an environment that is commensurate with their age and ability. Regular quality competition will provide feedback that will inform training programs for both individuals and whole squads creating a specified rather than a generalised approach to training. One of these key opportunities will be an EREA Invitational in each sport with fellow Edmund Rice schools. With a strong empha-sis on participation, the EREA Invitational events will provide a great competitive opportunity as well as a genuine and healthy connection between Edmund Rice schools.

We believe that the successes of our program will be in the partnerships that we create and maintain as we grow and prosper and the people who we recruit to facilitate our sporting program. Not only will these people and part-nerships bring new knowledge, skills and enthusiasm to our sporting program; they will open the door to their own sports bringing contacts and opportunities that may have otherwise been inaccessible for our boys.

As you will see from the framework included in this booklet, we will be offering sport at Recreational, Competitive, Advanced and Elite levels. Each boy can seek to engage in sport at the level and in the context which suits their own personal goals. A combination of school and club representative pathways across team sports, cross country, athletics and swimming will mean boys wishing to pursue a higher level of sport will have increased opportunity and the coaching and support systems in place to do so.

As we grow a program across school, club and community contexts, we hope your sons will find themselves en-gaged, motivated and supported in all aspects of sport at ATC. We have an opportunity to do things differently and to look outside the traditional structures of school sport. We have a proud history of sport at the College, we have found the people, built the partnerships, written the programs and established the processes that we need to offer a great sporting product to our boys.

Thank you for choosing to believe in our College and the many great opportunities that your son will have in the future. I look forward to standing next to you on the sidelines as our boys take the field wearing the blue, white and green of the ATC Irish Warriors to realise their own sporting dreams and to achieve their very own personal excellence.

Yours in ATC Sport

Dave Capra Head of Sport and Activities caprad@atc.qld.edu.au

ATC Sport Philosophy

ATC Sport Department Staff

Mr Dave Capra—Head of Sport and Activities

Mr Luke Donatini—Athletic Performance Coordinator

Mr Paul Jones—Aquatics Coordinator

Mr Brett Henschell—Cricket Coordinator

Mrs Fiona Hannan—Basketball Coordinator

ATC Sport Framework and Continuum

Australian Football

ATC Juniors will continue in their second year in the

AFLBJ Competition with teams from Under 9 to Under

14 in 2015. With 5 teams in our inaugural season in

2014 we are looking to build in 2015. Boys can play

ATC Juniors AFL as well as school soccer and rugby to

get the most out of the winter football codes!

Pre-season—February to March

Fixtures—April to August

A sport for every boy

Basketball

3 on 3 is the fastest growing form

of basketball in the world and will

be the cornerstone of the game at

ATC. Our recreational and com-

petitive level basketball players

will enjoy playing in the ATC 3 on

3 Basketball Competition, with

our advanced and elite players

using the 3 on 3 as a pre-season

for the school season in Term 3

and the Brisbane Club Basketball

season in Term 3 and 4.

Season— March to October

Athletics

The ATC Athletics program will

encapsulate Track and Field and

Cross Country and will involve

specialised training across run-

ning, jumping and throwing

events. A combination of regular

interschool and club competition

and representative opportunities

will allow all boys to achieve per-

sonal excellence.

Athletics and Cross country are

very popular sports at our College

and will continue to be a major

aspect of our sporting program

into the future.

Season— March to October

Canoe Polo

Canoe Polo is a very popular ‘niche’ sport in our community and with a new fleet of

boats designed specifically for the younger boys, participation will no doubt continue

to grow. Year 4 Paddle Play will be held on Saturday mornings and Year 5 – 8 competi-

tions will be held on Wednesday evenings through the year. Specialist coaches from

Brothers Canoe Polo will be facilitating the program with assistance from ATC Staff.

Canoe Polo runs all year round.

A sport for every boy

Cricket

The ATC Cricket program offers a complete package for

boys of all levels of interest and ability. For the cricket

‘tragics’ among us, cricket will begin in August for pre-

season training, followed by the ATC Club Cricket season

in Term 4 in the Brisbane North Cricket Competition, fol-

lowed by a full school cricket season in Term 1. Boys can

also choose to play school or club cricket only depending

on their interest and other commitments. Representa-

tive opportunities will include both school and club path-

ways.

Pre-season—August to September

Club Season—October to December

Canoeing and Kayaking

Canoeing and Kayaking will be offered at a recreational

level at ATC in 2015 with the emphasis being on familiar-

ising boys with key strokes and building confidence on

the water. With support from Queensland Canoeing and

Brothers Canoe Club, Canoeing and Kayaking will contin-

ue to evolve at ATC into competitive opportunities into

the future.

Indoor Cricket

In 2015 we will enter our 5th Indoor Cricket Season at Bris-

bane West Indoor Sports Centre. Following cricket trials in

Term 4 and the beginning of Term 1, boys who do not make

a school cricket team or a Year 4 club team will play Indoor

Cricket on Saturday mornings. Without rain interruptions

and with real participation in batting, bowling and fielding,

boys at a recreational level of the game will rapidly increase

in skill and knowledge whilst enjoying a fast paced, high

scoring version of the game.

A sport for every boy

Rugby Union

In 2015 we will be implementing our new

school wide rugby program that has been

developed with the QRU. In 2015, Year 4

boys will have the opportunity to represent

the College through Club rugby pathways,

Year 5 – 8 boys will have the opportunity to

tour to play at the Armidale or Gold Coast

Rugby Carnivals and will play a full school

season in Term 3. Our pre-season will in-

clude position specific conditioning as well

as individual and team skill development.

Year 4

Fixtures - March to August

Year 5—8

Pre-season—May to June

Fixtures—July to September

Football, Indoor Soccer and Futsal

Our head coach Mr Remo Buess will be returning in 2015 to sup-

port coaches in continuing to offer a high quality football program

at ATC. Pre-season will include an emphasis on football specific

conditioning and massed practise of fundamental skills in prepara-

tion for the school soccer season in Term 2. Boys will also have the

opportunity to play Futsal for the College in the SE QLD Futsal

Championships during the football pre-season. The Year 4 Indoor

Soccer Competition will also be offered during Term 2 on Friday

afternoons at Brisbane West Indoor Sports, Darra.

Pre-season—March

Fixtures—April to June

A sport for every boy

Swimming

ATC will offer a comprehensive swimming program for all members of

our community. Boys will have the opportunity to train as part of the

recreational, competitive, advanced and elite squads throughout the

school year and will compete at a variety of interschool and club

meets.

A focused school season will run during Term 1 in addition to the many

club swimming opportunities that boys will have. Boys will have the

opportunity to seek representative opportunities through school path-

ways and as a member of the ATC swimming club.

Triathlon

In its second year the triath-

lon program at the College

has gone from strength to

strength in terms of both the

number of boys participating

and the quality of our com-

petitors. Boys will train as a

squad in preparation for the

QLD All Schools Triathlon and

Aquathlon held at Kawana in

November as well as for

competition in the Gatorade

Tri Series.

Triathlon will run during

Term 3 and 4

Tennis

The ATC tennis program will commence

with age and open championships during

Term 2 and will then follow with Satur-

day morning and midweek fixtures

against schools in the AIC, TAS and GPS

organisations. ATC teams will also travel

to play tournaments in the Darling

Downs, Central QLD and Northern NSW.

Boys will also have the opportunity to

trial for teams playing in the Brisbane

International Primary Schools Tennis

Challenge during Term 4 and then if suc-

cessful during the Brisbane International

over the New Year.

Tennis will run during Term 2, 3 and 4

A sport for every boy

Water Polo

ATC will be entering teams into the Brisbane Wa-

ter Polo club competition in the Under 12 and

Under 13 divisions. Water Polo has been a growth

sport at the College for the past 4 years and we

are looking forward to continuing that growth as

we move into the future. We will also be run-

ning an internal developmental program for Wa-

ter Polo during Term 3 for beginner players from

all year levels.

Water Polo will run during Term 1 and 2 Volleyball

A small volleyball program will be developed for boys in Year 7 and 8. As

a new sport at the College we will be building the profile and breadth of

this program as we grow as a school and will compete in the All Schools

Volleyball Cup in Toowoomba when we have students of eligible ages.

Volleyball will run during Term 1 and 2

Representative Sport

A key focus of the sport program at ATC is provide opportunity for boys who have talent and ambition in a particu-

lar sport to pursue representative selection. ATC is a member of the West Taylor Bridge District for Junior School

Boys and Brisbane Independent Boys for Middle and Senior school boys.

In addition to school representative pathways, boys will have the opportunity to seek selection through club path-

ways in Cricket, Basketball, Swimming, Cross country, Athletics and Australian Football.

Term 4 Sport

Throughout the year, but particularly during Term 4 boys have the op-

portunity to experience a variety of sports on a recreational and semi-

competitive level. These include OzTag, Touch Football, Golf, European

Handball and other sports depending on student interest.