“Term 4 is used very much as preparation for PSA competition in Term 1,” Christ Church Director of Sport Anthony Lynch said. “Boys will be tried in a variety of positions and teams in order to get the right team balance for the start of 2010.”

Cricket
Cricket has got off to a good start this term with some exciting players in the mix and some impressive results recorded. Year 11s Matt King, Calum How and Captain Ashton Turner, along with Year 10s Mark Crawford and Stevie Eskinazi, have all played State cricket and Calum recently returned from playing for Australia in the under-17 team against England.

In PSA matches so far, Matt scored a century in round one against Wesley College and, in round two against Aquinas, Ashton made 98 not out before taking five wickets when Christ Church was bowling.

Teacher in Charge of Cricket Luke Watson said he was very pleased with how the boys were training and how the programme was moving forward. “The boys are focused,” he said. “And they are enjoying a new strength and conditioning programme with Richard Daly of Daly Difference. He has great cricket expertise so it’s fantastic to have him on board.”

Mr Watson also highlighted a change in coaching staff, with former development squad coach Andrew Greig taking on the role of high performance coach. “He is a welcome addition to senior squad training,” Mr Watson said. “The team is looking good. I’m confident we’ll be competitive in Term 1.”

Tennis
Tennis is looking strong across the age groups with a mix of boys from Years 8 to 11 set to make up the core of the team in Term 1 next year. Teacher in Charge of Tennis Simon Bosustow said the team had been bolstered by very capable Year 10 boys Sam Flynn and Kanichi Shioji, while Alistair Baker (Year 8), Daniel Ibbitson (Year 11) and Linus Goh (Year 9) remained the standout players. Alistair was recently selected in the Western Australian team to compete at the Under-14 Australian Junior Team Championships in Melbourne at the end of November.

Mr Bosustow said the boys were training well under the coaching expertise of old boy David Cullley and things were looking very good for 2010. “Most of the boys play pennants tennis for local clubs over the holidays and will be responsible for keeping their fitness levels up to standard for the main competition in Term 1.”

After winning the Coor Cup in Term 1 2008, CCGS finished equal second with Wesley in 2009. Mr Bosustow said competition would again be close this season, with “Aquinas, Wesley, Hale, Scotch and CCGS all having legitimate claims as to who could win the Corr Cup”.

Water Polo
After winning the 2009 season undefeated, the Firsts Water Polo team is again shaping up well for 2010. Teacher in Charge of Water Polo Gemma Slater said Year 9s Tom Cunningham, Will Brogan, Charlie Foster and Andrew Ford were promising additions to the team and were all looking to have a strong future in Water Polo at CCGS.

“Our goals for 2010 are to place in the Tom Hoad Cup, an international competition that runs between Christmas and New Year at the Melville Water Polo Club at Bicton, and to achieve a back-to-back premiership victory in the PSA,” Ms Slater said. “Working under the expert eye of coach Scott Chrystal, who led the team to victory in 2009, the Firsts are shaping up to achieve these goals. To this end, the team will be training and competing over the summer holidays, sacrificing family holidays and well-earned relaxation time to form a tight and cohesive team.”

Ms Slater pointed to Year 11s Luke Cranswick, George Ford, Chris Reynolds, James Moorman and Daniel Cullingford as the standout players in the team, with Daniel as goal keeper and well known for his ferocity in the water. “Both George and Luke are national representatives in the 1993-born Australian water polo team. They are in the top 30 junior players in the nation.”