Pupils impress Sports department with commitment and desire
As we approached half-term, the Sports department took time to reflect on how the season has gone so far.
Read their reports below.
Director of Sport Mr Andy Marsh
What a start to the year! I have been blown away by the commitment, effort and desire of our pupils to not only attend the clubs, but also to represent the black and gold of Stockport.
The major sports continue to go from strength to strength but I am equally pleased to report that some of the emerging sports like boys’ hockey, girls’ rugby and girls’ football have seen an explosion in interest, with numbers at these practices getting bigger and bigger each week. With fixtures scheduled in these sports in the not-too-distant future it will be great see more pupils playing.
This term also saw the runners attend the Stockport Schools Association Cross Country Championship. There was a plethora of talent and some amazing runners and to have 10+ students selected to represent Stockport on the back of their efforts is nothing short of fantastic. With over 80 runners we had the biggest showing and I was proud of each and every one of their efforts.
In addition to the after-school activities, it is also great to see many students further developing their skills learnt in PE where they are also attending basketball, badminton, climbing and gym sessions. It really is a hive of activity on any given day and I look forward to adding swimming to our provision after half-term.
Our commitment to ‘Sports For All, and Elite For Some’ is evidenced nowhere better than the numbers of players we have had attending fixtures, and the numbers of pupils who have already represented school. In only six weeks, we have had 153 pupils attend a netball practice, 212 attend rugby, 182 attend football and 138 attend hockey. Of all those who have attended practice, 472 participants have already played in one of the four major sports. This however wouldn’t be made possible without the support of the parents and the department. Thank you for your support and helping to grow the culture of sport within SGS.
Head of Football Development Mr Mike Elstone
This year, we have had over 230 boys and girls attend football practice. It has been a very busy start to the year and fixtures have included national cup games (ISFA) and Stockport Schools league and cup competitions.
Performances on the football pitch have been promising. The two things that I have asked of the students before every game – work rate and a positive attitude – have been executed. One thing I would like from all the boys and girls who represent school is to be more vocal and confident on the pitch. Participation numbers are extremely high for both boys and girl’s football this year, and I hope that this will continue throughout the year.
There have been a few standout results this year which have been fully deserved. These include the Under 15 and 16 teams progressing through cup competitions.
Read the full report on our dedicated Sports Website.
Head of Hockey Miss Sharon Withington
I’ve been around on the Astro at SGS for many years now and I’ve never seen as many people at practice. There are pupils of all ages swarming around at practices and it is absolutely fabulous – average numbers are around 30 per age group. Enjoyment coupled with engagement results in us seeing progress and improvement. Hockey is one of our “emerging” boys’ sports and it is great to see the boys taking the opportunity to join in practices after school and in their stand-alone practice on a Wednesday lunchtime. Matches for the boys are now in the calendar and will be played shortly after the half-term break. The girls’ strength and conditioning sessions before school on a Wednesday in the newly refurbished Fitness Suite have also been well attended.
Working on the transition phase and turning from defence into attack has been one of our main threads with the older groups and learning and responding to the outcome rather than the score with the younger teams. Moving forward we will look at finishing and supporting the player with the ball. We have also had a big drive on club links – the more pupils play, the better their skills become, the more match play they experience the better they are at reading the game.
Read the full report on our dedicated Sports Website.
Head of Rugby Mr Matt Sturgess
This year has kicked off with a real success in the volume of pupils attending co-curricular training. It has been really pleasing to see so many pupils enjoying school rugby and wanting to improve. We have had 240 pupils attend co-curricular practises: including 70 First Year boys and 51 Seniors players. From the 240 that have attended practices, 84% of these pupils have represented the school in a competitive fixture. This is something we value here at SGS and we hope to continue to provide competitive fixtures for as many pupils as possible.
Across the age groups, we have had some really promising performances and results – it would be impossible to pinpoint one individual result from our fixtures so far this year.
This year we wanted to extend and increase the level of the provision for our rugby squad members. As part of this increase, we have hired a part time Strength and Conditioning Coach from Sale Sharks. This has been a fantastic addition to the pupils’ rugby programme allowing them to enhance their physical performance on the pitch. This has been really beneficial, for both the pupils’ knowledge and understanding around injury prevention.
One area that has seen huge success and development this year has been the girls’ rugby programme. Off the back of last year’s success, we wanted to continue to grow girls’ rugby at Stockport Grammar School. First Year girls now have compulsory rugby lessons as part of their PE programme. As well as this, Mr Corbett and Mr Yates has been delivering an extremely successful First and Second Year girls’ rugby co-curricular club, which has seen over 25 girls regularly attending. The numbers continue to grow week on week with this session and it would be great to see more new faces.
Read the full report on our dedicated Sports Website.
Head of Netball Miss Rachel Towell
The first six weeks of netball at SGS have been exciting, especially as it is also my first six weeks in the role.
It has been great to get to know all the pupils and see the connections between the squads start to develop. There have been over 150 pupils attend training, 93 of those pupils have represented school in our fixtures so far this half-term. We have had some closely contested Cup fixtures across the Sisters N Sport and ISNC competitions. I can’t wait to see their progression as the school year continues.
The girls’ commitment to training, fixtures and additional extra sessions such as strength and conditioning and shooting practice has been brilliant and we are starting to reap these rewards in our fixtures.
Read the full report on our dedicated Sports Website.
