Sport

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“While there are sports of individual achievements, men's connections to other men are nowhere more palpable and unashamedly acknowledged as in ‘The Team’. Through it a boy experiences an intense sense of belonging, of community, even of love that he may never find elsewhere. Sport is a rite of passage. To know the satisfaction of scoring the winning run, the stinging pain of a crunching tackle, the team's resolve in preventing the penalty corner from being converted, are all rituals of manhood.” (Boys at Play, WS Pollack)

Sporting activities provide important arenas for boys to extend their talents and their self-knowledge, while also learning the art of teamwork and leadership. The Boys' College values tradition and promotes sporting events and ceremonies, which attempt to foster each boy's identity and appeal to their loyalty.

A visit to the Boys' College dining hall will allow a young Saint to experience the sporting history of the school. All boys who fill leadership roles are trained in the art of captaincy through workshops. Added to this, in keeping with the Boys' College serving leadership model, the younger and less-experienced boys are helped by the older boys, who act as positive role models and who offer guidance and assistance.

The Boys' College seeks to promote participation in, and the pursuit of, personal excellence by all boys within a wide range of sports and activities.

All boys are expected to participate in a winter sport and a summer sport:

Athletics Basketball Cricket Cross-country Equestrian Golf Hockey
Rowing Rugby Soccer Swimming Squash Tennis Water polo
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High Performance Centre

Strength training, power lifting and Olympic weightlifting

We are currently renovating the High Performance Centre (HPC). Below is some information on the HPC and the services it provided for our community before the current renovations. The Centre will be providing an even better service to our community once the renovations are complete.

The HPC provides both sportsmen and coaches with first-class strength training opportunities. Boys are schooled in the art of power lifting, Olympic weightlifting and functional training, with an emphasis on pure strength gains. All athletes require explosive power and speed. The HPC staff ensure that all boys who train in the centre are well conditioned and ready for competition.

It is our objective to involve all boys in at least two sports a year in order to ensure that all young men in our care, no matter their level of ability, are able to grow and develop as sportsmen. In recognition of the fact that each boy achieves at a different level, every member of every team, irrespective of whether it be the A team or the D team, is accorded the same level of interest and respect, and is acknowledged for his participation and his enthusiasm and not only for his results.

To this end, the Boys' College is committed to providing quality coaching and we are proud that almost all our coaches are members of the teaching staff, as it is our belief that sport is an extension of the classroom and that this philosophy is best implemented by men and women who are in contact with the boys on a daily basis.

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Added to this, all coaching staff are part of ongoing coaching programmes in order to upgrade and improve their coaching skills, and they are continually exposed to modern coaching practices: this is done by involving highly qualified and experienced professional coaches as, and when, required. We strive to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that our boys are afforded the very best in coaching practice.

Sporting effort and achievement is recognised at the Boys' College, and young men are acknowledged by the College and by their peers in many ways.

As an example, boys are awarded ceremonial caps after a certain number of appearances at 1st team level; in all sports, as a mark of their progress, Team Scrolls, Colours awards and Honours blazers are awarded to and cherished by those who earn them for excellence in sport. Boys are also encouraged to retain their interest in sporting activities not offered on campus, and new sports opportunities are explored on a regular basis.

One such example is the formation of the very popular and ever-growing Fishing Club, with the boys having access to the two large dams on the property.

At the Boys' College young men are encouraged, and indeed are expected, to participate fully in the life of the school. In keeping with our holistic philosophy, we believe that sport cannot be separated from effort in academics, from cultural and service activities, essentially, that sport cannot be done in isolation.

Sport is a part of the life at the Boys' College, where individual excellence, compassion, responsibility and opportunities for genuine success are to be found. The Boys' College is The Team.