Introducing Coach Ella Brown!

Next up for our 'Coach Highlights', we have Ella Brown!

Ella coaches our Senior B Netball and Junior Cricket teams. 

⭐How did you get involved in coaching at SKC?

I moved to Oamaru at the beginning of Summer to work for North Otago Cricket and part of this role involved coaching at SKC. I coached the Junior Cricket team, High Performance Netball and Cricket.

⭐What sports do/have you played?

I am currently club netball in Oamaru for Maheno. While at school I used to play cricket, basketball, tennis and squash. I took this summer of cricket to train and complete a half ironman.

⭐Have you played any sport at a representative level?

I have played for the Netball South Beko team for a couple of years. I also played for the Otago Sparks Women’s Cricket Team for a few seasons and captained the Otago Under 21 Cricket team when I was younger.

⭐What is your favourite part about coaching?

I thoroughly enjoy working with players and building relationships to get to know them better. I love being in a position where I can give back to the sport and pass on my knowledge. Seeing a team achieve success is one of the most rewarding things of coaching.

⭐What is your personal coaching philosophy?

I believe that playing a team sport enables you to develop life long skills. The people you meet and friendships you make through sport can last a life time. Coaching has enabled me to pass on knowledge that my own coaches have taught me and develop our next up and coming players.

⭐Advice to young sportspeople?

Make the most of every opportunity you are given. You never know what might be around the corner. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help, someone is always more than willing to offer support.

⭐Favourite Quote?

“Better than before”

So great to have you on board Ella!

Introducing Coach George Karamaena

We are so lucky here at St Kevin's College to have some excellent coaches for our students who volunteer their time in our sports programmes. We thought we would take some time to profile some of our coaches so you can get to know them! 

First up we have George Karamaena, U14.5 Rugby Coach

⭐ How did you get involved coaching at SKC?

I have been coaching on and off for around 5 years. My brother in-law is a student at SKC and plays rugby and it so happened that they were looking for another coach for this season. Craig Smith also used to teach me down at Southland Boys and made the connection and got in touch. 

⭐ What sports do/ have you played?

Currently I don’t play any sports. I like to play a bit of softball and touch when I can. Unfortunately I can’t play contact sport due to an accident. I played rugby, touch and softball for many years.

⭐ Have you played any sport at a representative level?

I have played at a representative level with all 3 sports over the years for Southland. Men’s major league for softball too. 

⭐ What is your favourite part about coaching?

Working with young men and passing on my past experiences to inspire them for their future. I also still love to be involved in the sport I grew up having a passion for. Unfortunately playing rugby got taken away from me due to an accident back in 2016.

⭐ What is your personal coaching philosophy?

I am a firm believer that if you have knowledge, pass it on to those who do not. I also believe that playing sports as a child, not only builds character and confidence but also gives them a sense of accomplishment. It also prepares them for life. Working as a team or as a team player, not as an individual. 

⭐ Speak on a challenge you’ve faced and what you did to get through it? Sporting or otherwise.

In March 2016 I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was underneath a falling balcony at a Six60 concert and sustained some pretty life changing injuries. I broke my back and both of my legs which put me in hospital for many weeks and was unable to walk for a couple of months. I had just started back rugby for the season and was absolutely devastated at the fact I couldn’t play for not only that season but for many seasons to come. Being faced with such a life changing experience taught me a lot being a young 19 year old. I suffered not just physically but also mentally as sport was such a huge part of my life. I made sure that I surrounded myself with friends and family and who brought the best out of me. Keeping busy by exercising, studying at the institute of sport- which helped guide me through tough times. Talking to people that have gone through similar situations and being open about it.

⭐ Advice to young sportspeople? 

Respect - Respect each other and everyone around you. 

Team work - working together and communicating. There is no “I” in team

Work ethic - if you are passionate about something, you’ll push your self to achieve set goals

⭐ Favourite quote? Sporting or otherwise

You don’t get what you wish for. You get what you work for.

Parent, Spectator and Player Sport Expectations

As we near the middle of the winter sport season, here is a timely reminder of parent and spectator expectations we have at SKC.

Coaches, Parents and Spectators are expected to:    

-Encourage your family member and all other students in their efforts while playing sport. 

-Display self-control on the sidelines at ALL times. 

-Remain positive. Do not shout or ridicule players or match officials.

-Respect those involved in taking and playing the sport efforts regardless of whether St Kevin’s College has won or lost. 

-Respect the decisions of those who volunteer their time - referees, coaches, managers. 

-Do not place undue pressure on your child to play or perform especially in pressure finals. 

-If your child is hospitalised as a result of a serious injury, it is your responsibility to meet them as soon as possible, or arrange for a friend or relative to meet them there. This applies if the incident took place within a driving distance of 4 hours.

Good luck to all those involved this weekend!

Equestrian Arena Maintenance

Thank you to Road Metals who came out today and spread some new sand on our equestrian arena. This is routine maintenance to improve the surface for the horses, helping with injury prevention.

Our equestrian programme provides a unique opportunity for students to develop and foster their passion for horses while improving their equestrian skills. The programme at the College has been developed to cater for students of all abilities from the beginner to the experienced rider.

We are so lucky to have this great facility on site!

Drug Free Sport Seminar

Over the first term the Junior and Senior High Performance Sports classes have been working hard during their skills and fitness sessions.

In the last few weeks the students have been lucky enough to hear from two guest speakers. Cassie Bowry from Drugfree Sport NZ spoke to both classes about values, the awareness of influences of behaviour, identification of risks and supplement use. Drug Free Sport NZ.

Kate Finn has also been in to explain the need for positive mindset, language patterns for success, mantras for individuals, body language, visualisation and limiting beliefs for performance. Kate Finn - Your Life Live It

A big thank you to both speakers for giving up your time and inspiring our students!

Aoraki Cross Country Results

Well done to our runners who recently took part in the Aoraki Cross Country champs.

There were 15 schools with approximately 140 participants.

The Results were:

Junior Girls

Grace Brydges 2nd
Kezia Pestell 15th

Junior Boys

Quinn Burge 4th

Intermediate Boys

Camden Burge 1st
Mathew Metcalfe 7th

Senior Girls

Jocelyn Fellowes 9th
Georgina McCarthy 15th

Senior Boys

Liam Prouting-Gardner 16th
Ben Kay 17th

Success for Swimmers!

Our swimmers have been busy the last few weeks!

Well done to Neight Fraser, Olli McDiarmid-Jones and Halalova Asi who competed at the recent NZ Division 2 Swimming Champs. Neight won silver medals in the Boys U13 100m Butterfly and in the 100m Breaststroke race, and also finished 4th in the 100 Individual Medley. Olli won a bronze medal in the Boys U15 100m Breaststroke and was 4th in the 200m Breaststroke. Halalova won two silver medals as well as 4th in the 1500m freestyle, swimming a personal best time.

And there has been more swimming success last week with those who attended the Aoraki Swimming Champs in Timaru:

- Neight Fraser (Boys 14 & Under): 3rd 100m Individual Medley, 4th 100m Butterfly

- Olli McDiarmid-Jones (Boys 14 & Under): 2nd 200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley, 3rd 100m Butterfly

- Tarona Taafaki (Girls 14 & Under): 1st 50m Freestyle, 1st 50m Butterfly, 2nd 100m Butterfly.

A big thank you to Lenore Fraser for helping with transport.

Well done to all!

Otago Talent Development Programme Selection

Congratulations to Year 12 students Ben Kay and Georgina McCarthy who have been selected into the 2021 Academy Otago Talent Development Programme.

 
This is a joint venture between Otago Academy of Sport, the Otago Community Trust, and The Southern Trust. It provides a sport science support network for top athletes and their coaches, with a tailored programme which meets the needs of talented and aspiring Otago based athletes. The project is supported by Otago Regional Sporting Organisations (RSO’s).

 
The vision of the programme is to nurture, support and educate talented Otago athletes to achieve excellence in sport, with the goal of more Otago athletes achieving on the national and international stage.
This year, a maximum of 20 athletes from around the Otago region were given the opportunity to be included in the programme, with Ben and Georgina being the only selected from North Otago. 

The first year of the programme (Foundation Year) offers athletes an introduction into what high performance sport is like. Those athletes who excel in the first year may be selected for inclusion in a second-year programme (Leadership Year), building on principles from year one. By selection only, the athletes can be offered further support in their third year (Scholarship Year).
Well done to you both!

Cross Country Results 2021

A big congratulations to everyone who took part in the school Cross Country on Friday in what has been one of our most challenging Cross Country courses in many years. Thank you to Mr Tatupu for his organisation of the event and to the staff who volunteered to support our students by helping out.

Well done to the following winners:

Senior Boys - Jacob Klemick
Senior Girls - River Cunningham
16 Boys - Liam Prouting-Gardner
16 Girls - Olivia Mavor
15 Boys - Camden Burge
15 Girls - Summer Borrie
14 Boys - Quinn Burge
14 Girls - Grace Brydges

A big thank you to Sara Plunkett, Maisie Robinson and Madison Jones for taking all the action shots on of the day. 

SKC Mountain Bike Track Opening

The SKC Mountain Bike track was opened officially yesterday by Gary Kircher - Mayor for Waitaki and St Kevin’s College Principal Paul Olsen.

The track is designed as a community asset and has been developed in conjunction with the local Mountain Bike Club. The track is marked using nationally recognised signage and guidance and Mr Olsen says he hopes it will become a regular ride for local enthusiasts.

Mr Olsen acknowledged the contribution made by local businesses such as Brackens and Roger Gilchrist Building Services and service groups who participated such as Leos. He also thanked the Ministry of Primary Industries who supplied 5000 trees from the Billion Tree Project for the next phase of the Service Hill Development, the North Otago Tree Planting Society, KSouth Oamaru, and the Waitaki District Council.

 
Mr Olsen thanked Jimmy McGeown for spearheading this project, the Foundation for its support, and the staff at St Kevin’s who have contributed, Aidan Haig, Kerry Ryan, Ken McCallum, Allan Grant, Regan George, Sarah Clapperton and Russell Dixon.

Hawke's Bay Pony Grand Prix

Congratulations to Emma Gillies who placed 1st and 2nd in the Pony Grand Prix at Hawkes Bay in the weekend.

Well done also to Sam Gillies who was 2nd in Junior Rider and won the 1.30 champ.

Network Waitaki Sports Awards 2021

Congratulations to the following Kevinian's for their placings last night at the Network Waitaki Sports Awards:

Jessica Crossley - Official in Sport

Emma Gillies - Junior Sportswoman of the Year

Clark Ewing - Junior Sportsman of the Year

Owen Gould who has coached SKC rowers for many years received Coach of the Year.

A big congratulations to you all!!!

Maadi Cup Results

Well done to our SKC Rowers who competed at Maadi Cup over the last week at Lake Karapiro.

The Girls Under 18 Coxless Pairs (Georgina McCarthy and Sophia Linares-Fontona) and the Girls Under 18 Coxed Four (Georgina McCarthy, Sophia Linares-Fontona, April Linares-Fontona, Amelia Wilkinson and Alexis Cuaresma) made B finals in their respective categories.

The Girls Under 17 Coxless Pairs (Amelia Wilkinson and April-Linares-Fontona) made an A final and placed 7th in New Zealand!

A big thank you to Owen Gould, Ivan Docherty, the Oamaru Rowing Club and parents and supporters who helped out during the regatta and over the course of the season.

Coaches and Managers Evening

Thank you to those who were able to come along to the coaches and managers evening held on Tuesday night. 

It was great having Kate Finn there to talk to us about how to best engage and motivate our students to participate in sport. 

We wish our teams all the best for their season ahead!

Southern Steel Netball Visit

We recently had some Southern Steel Netball players visit us to take a skills session with some of our netballers. 

A big thank you to players Shannon Saunders, Kate Heffernan, Renee Savai'inaea and Meletia Tatupu for sharing your skills and expertise! 

Thanks to Nicole Bautista for the photos.

Borton Cup Cricket Final

Tomorrow the SKC 1st XI will compete in the Borton Cup final against Union. 

This is the first time since 1999 that the team has played in the final. That was SKC's first final, and is the only time the school team has won the competition, and there are some interesting quirks about both the games.

The game in 1999 was also against Union where current 1st XI member Jack Cameron's father (Glynn) and grandfather (Peter) both played in the game for Union. Peter was also the captain of the team. 

In the SKC side, current player-coach Craig Smith played in the game as a schoolboy (Year 10 at the time) taking 4 wickets, and Regan George's brother, Matt, was the captain of the team in 1999! Future Otago Highlander Matt Saunders was also a part of the team.

Good luck to the boys and we look forward to the game tomorrow which starts at 11.30am at Whitestone Contracting Stadium!

1st XI Cricket Team makes Borton Cup Final

A big congratulations to our 1st XI Cricket team who won their semi final on Saturday against WBHS 1st XI. They will now play Union in the Borton Cup Final!

 
Well done to Anthony Docherty who picked up his first 5 wicket bag for the team.

Short Scorecard:
SKC 1st XI 226 all out (Regan George 77, Craig Smith 84) beat WBHS 1st XI 144 all out (Anthony Docherty 5 for 38, Lachlan Brookes 2 for 16) by 82 runs.

High Performance Skills Sessions Underway

Skills sessions have started up for our High Performances classes and our Junior and Senior classes are well under way.

 
We are very lucky to have North Otago Rugby Development Officer and Heartland coach Jason Forrest and North Otago rugby player Josh Phipps helping the rugby players. Former Otago Spark and Beko netballer Ella Brown taking the cricketers and netballers, and former Otago Nugget Mitch McCrae looking after the Basketballers.

 
Thank you for guiding our young athletes and taking the time to teach them the technical and tactical aspects of their codes.

Seeking Football Coaches

We have recently held Football trials at school and are pleased to announce we have the makings of three strong competitive teams. One girls team and two boys teams.

The girls team will play on Wednesday night like last year, and the two boys teams will play on Saturday in the Timaru league (home and away). We have a 1st XI boys team in the U18 grade and a Junior boys team in the U14 grade. The Junior boys will practice at 6pm Tuesday and Thursday as this is the only time available for the coach.

We desperately need coaches and managers for the other two and are seeking volunteers for these roles. It would be a shame to withdraw teams should we fail to get these roles filled. Please put the word out in the community. It is possible to share the roles and arrange a roster.

If you are interested in helping out please contact Jimmy McGeown jmcgeown@stkevins.school.nz or Sarah Clapperton sclapperton@stkevins.school.nz

Athletics Sports 2021

Some photos from the action from the school Athletics Day.

 
Thank you to all the students that took part, and of course to those that helped with the organisation and running of the event.

Here are the Athletics Champs for 2021 and the final House placings.

Under 14 Boys - Harrison King
Under 14 Girls - Grace Brydges
Under 15 Boys - Camden Burge
Under 15 Girls - Summer Borrie
Under 16 Boys - Liam Prouting-Gardner
Under 16 Girls - Olivia Mavor
Senior Boys - Jed Jabagat
Senior Girls - Georgina McCarthy

House points:
1st - Treacy
2nd - Whyte
3rd - Clancy
4th - Magee

 
A big thanks to our student photographers Tahlia Sherwin, Annalise Kilgour and Mary Curtin for these awesome photos.