The Girls played their tournament on Friday October 23. The first match was played against our rivals King's Christian College. It was a great game from both sides, ending 2-all.
Somerset won the following three games against Calvary Christian College, St Andrews Lutheran College and Islamic College, to make it to the semi finals versus Islamic College. The girls won for the second time to make the Finals, again facing King's.
After the earlier game, the girls knew they faced a tough challenge and had to perform their best to become the best of South Queensland. And the girls did it! Great teamwork made for great goals and brought us to victory.
Well done Sarah Nickels, Natalia Zotti, Ellie Davies, Zara Ryan, Ari Thake and Georgie Zerbst. Big thanks to Coach Nigel who worked with the Girls during the Futsal season.
After success from the girls, Monday October 26 was the opportunity for the Under 8 Boys. Only having two Under 8 teams qualify meant both teams were automatically placed into the final.
During the day the Boys played the Under 9s from King's Christian College, Calvary College and Faith Lutheran College. It was a great opportunity to practise against futsal players a year older. They picked up new tactics and set pieces.
The boys were all pumped for the final. In the first minutes Somerset created many changes but couldn't get the ball in goal. The side then managed a goal and gave the team confidence until end to book a well-deserved win over Calvary. Congratulations to William Baillie, Danny Wang, Harper Loon, Conner Millar-Martin, Zhander Griffiths and Oliver Ng.
Big thanks to Coach Sean who coaches the team in Futsal Club. It was evident the experience from playing Club helped during the school tournament.
For any questions about Futsal at Somerset. please contact our Head of Football and Futsal. Maarten de Kruijf mdekruijf@somerset.qld.edu.au
Under 8s Pink played against our very own Under 9 Black side. The teams put in an amazing effort, showing relentless defence and fierce determination. Despite defeat Under 8 Pink did not did not let Blacks win easily. The winners were forced to work hard for their points and made a few spills and tumbles trying to get past the intense defence of our Under 8 girls.
It was a clear improvement on the previous weeks game, with girls getting the opportunity to take a few penalty shots and having more time in their goal half.
Well done to both teams.
Under 8 Blue beat Palm Beach Sharks 11 to 6 at Robina La Liga with Benedict Thompson, Alex Pourre, Edward Hassett, Henry Pevy, Hugo Hasselle, Izaak Barclay.
The team played a great game against their skilful opponents, showing some great passing, defending and use of the wings as well as individual on the ball skills. A fast-moving game with plenty of goals from each side.
More important than the goals was the boys’ attitude. Self-belief was never far away, and whenever the Sharks scored, the Spartans were quick to retaliate with at least one more in reply. Coach Maarten rotated players giving each player a chance at goal, attack and providing them a breadth to their skills and appreciation of the team.
There were plenty of shots at goal with the marksmanship improving. Highlights: * a hat-trick from Alex within the first 10 minutes; * Isaacs’s trademark aerial passes which set up Edward and Ben to score screaming goals having found space in front of the goal; * some solid defence work with Henry putting in some effective challenges; and * moving the ball around the pitch and finding space is definitely improving and Hugo and Benedict amongst others covering the pitch effectively and providing great opportunities.
Most impressive was the 100 per cent commitment they all demonstrated. The team showed great skills, teamwork and sportsmanship playing some tough opposition, encouraging each other, and “shaking” elbows with the Sharks at the end.
They have adapted quickly to the indoor game with a much smaller ball and playing area. Well done!
Spartan goal scorers: - Alex 6, Edward 2, Izaak, Ben and Hugo 1 each.
Off the back of a very decent first game of the season, the boys were eager to go again. However, this week’s match was considerably tougher. This did not deter the boys who gave 110 per cent for the whole game.
Due to the quality of the opposition we spent a lot of the game defending. This was done extremely well from everyone with a special shoutout to Lachlan making his debut in the second half and making many crucial tackles. Despite this, we had several chances on the counterattack and were unlucky not to score at least a few, with some well strung together attacks from Sion, Reuben and Oli. We also witnessed some outstanding goalkeeping performances from the boys stopping some almost certain goals. A special mention for Franklin’s solid efforts as well as Louis' ability to make multiple saves with his stomach and forehead!
Overall, the result was harsh but there were promising moments within the game that we will build on in the upcoming weeks.
The Green team kicked off Round 2 with a highly anticipated match against the Somerset Orange side. Proving to be a tight contest from the get-go, the Green team took the lead midway through the first-half, courtesy of Hunter. The goal reflected improved attacking play from the previous week as the boys pressed high on the oppositions defence.
Shortly after, the opposition found an equaliser bringing the score to 1-all. Despite some impressive defence from Brayden and Dylan, nothing was going to stop Hamish’s rocket of a shot. The boy’s played out the second half, creating some close opportunities from time to time, but a goal was to no avail.
The Green team exhibited much improved positional play and a better understanding of the game, keeping it tight to secure the draw.
Overall, a fair result and great game to all that played. Well done Green team!
Somerset's Under 9s took out Supa Strikers 18 to 1. The match started with an early strip of the ball and a quick goal by Harper in the first 30 seconds. This set the tone for the rest of the match.
It became apparent our boys had played together for longer and had superior individual skills, combined with better shape on the court and decision making. The half time score was 10-nil. The rules were changed in the second half where the boys were forced to perform five passes and a switch play prior to attempting a goal. It was a good opportunity for the team to refine their play, improving communication among players and switching their positions to improve their versatility and all-round skills. The boys embraced this and ended up winning 18 to 1.
The sole Supa Striker goal was an outstanding effort with a flick/lob into the net. For Somerset, all players scored with a couple achieving hat-tricks. The team is certainly playing well together and should advance deep into the competition
The Under 10 ad a bye this week and will be in action next week.
Somerset Spartans Under 11s played Gold Coast United at Carrara with Bailey, Sabastian, Nash, Caspar, Jacob and Dash.
The boys versed an all-girls team who put the pressure on from the start. Nash opened the goal scoring which was followed by an amazing header into the goals by Sabastian to secure our second goal of the game.
It was great to have Caspar join the team this week. Jacob’s defence and attacking play was consistent throughout the entire game and he had some great attempts at goal but the opposition’s goalie unfortunately kept saving them. Fantastic effort Jacob.
Both teams’ goalies were very strong but our superstar goalie Dash delivered again making some amazing saves as always. The girls continued to put the pressure on our boys showing some strong foot work and skills which secured them a goal just before half time, with the scoreboard 3 to 1 for Somerset.
The second half Caspar came in strong scoring a goal within the first 30 secs quickly followed by a goal from Bailey. The boys all showed great teamwork, especially Dash and Jacob who never gave up and at on stage worked so hard together to save a goal from the girls that unfortunately snuck through. The teamwork and determination from these two boys were great to watch.
Caspar and Bailey came so close to their second goals of the game but again the goalie came out on top. Bailey and Sabastian also worked so well together to set up an amazing pass, one by Bailey to Sabastian who kicked his third goal of the game. This was quickly followed by a fourth goal for Sabastian, what a great goal scoring tally for him! It was a great game to watch, fast paced and full of excitement.
Gold Coast United made our Spartans work hard the entire game but the final score was 7 to 2 to Somerset Spartans. A great win by the U11 boys. Well done. Spartan goal scorers: - Sabastian - 4, Nash -1, Caspar -1, Bailey – 1.
Somerset's Under 13s took on the Strikers at Robina High. It was a great experience for everyone. While the score line was unfortunate, reflecting an 11 to two loss, there were many moments in the game the boys can be proud off, with some amazing goalkeeping, defending and shots to score our two goals. A great effort from our U13s!
This project is an exciting opportunity for the triathletes to learn more about sports physiology and experience some of the testing protocols that elite athletes would undertake.
This week the students took part in VO2max testing on the treadmill in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory. VO2max (Maximal Oxygen Uptake) is the maximum amount of oxygen that the body can take up and use per minute. It is highly correlated to endurance performance. Elite endurance athletes typically have a very high VO2max, with values around 80-90 ml/kg/min reported at the highest level of elite sport.
The triathletes performed very well on the test. Somerset College Physiologist Dr Annette Eastwood said, “I was very impressed by the results, some of the triathletes demonstrated VO2max scores similar to what Olympians and World Champions have reported at a similar age (above 65ml/kg/min for males and over 50ml/kg/min for females). There are certainly some talented athletes within the Triathlon Program and I am looking forward to seeing how they progress in the sport over the next few years.”
A special mention to our two Gold Medallists – Felix Jackson-King (Triple Jump) and Britney Ingr (Long Jump).
Full team results as follows:
Felix Jackson-King – Triple Jump 1st 14.38m (0.0m) PB; Long Jump 2nd 7.36m (0.0m) PB (Both National Q)
Prosper Nwoko – 100m 3rd 10.74sec (+2.9m); 200m 2nd 21.95sec (+2.5m) (Both National Q)
Kye Reynoldson – 100m 13th 11.64sec (+1.0m); 200m 13th 23.57sec (+2.7m) PB
James Thompson – 100m 18th 12.07sec (+2.0m) PB; Long Jump 10th 5.16m
Brayden Miles – 400m Hurdles 5th 61.37sec PB (National Q); 400m 10th 53.50sec PB
Phoenix Kyaw – Long Jump 11th 5.73m PB; 400m 17th 57.08sec PB
Rishi Veeramachaneni – 100m 24th 12.86sec (+2.7m); 200m 19th 26.21sec (+0.6m)
Luke Shirley – Javelin 5th 36.51m PB
Mathew Goldie – High Jump 9th 1.50m
Aidan Mackie – 90m Hurdles 6th 15.00sec (+1.3m) PB (National Q)
1 x Gold | 2 x Silver | 1 x Bronze medals
10 x Personal Bests
10 x Top 10 finishes
Miku Adachi – 800m 5th 2.22min PB; 1500m 6th 5.01min PB
Diaz Henry – 100m (DQ – False start – very unlucky!)
Starr Scott – 800m 4th 2.17min; 1500m 3rd 4.48min (800m National Q)
Jessica Velloza – 100m Hurdles 4th 15.87sec PB (National Q)
Caitlin Anderson – High Jump 6th 1.50m
Britney Ingr – Long Jump 1st 5.79m; 100m 2nd 11.83sec; 200m 2nd 24.39sec (ALL National Q)
Sophie Clements – 100m 17th 13.73; Long Jump 10th 4.72m
Ava Stephens - 80m Hurdles 8th 14.43sec PB
Note: Stephanie Sprague to compete in Pole Vault 7 November for Queensland Championships.
Overall1 x Gold | 2 x Silver | 1 x Bronze1 Top 104 x PBs
Congratulations to all our amazing athletes who participated! Normally seven of these athletes who qualified would then go on to compete at the Australian All Schools, however with Covid-19 this has unfortunately been cancelled.
On a positive note, the Summer Athletics season is now in full swing and we have the largest number of registered athletes ready to compete throughout the season ever.
Our focus now is on Queensland State Relay and Multi Event Championships in November and December. These will be followed by the Queensland State Championships in February and hopefully the Australian Championships in March where we should see a record number of Somerset Athletes performing.
If you are interested in competing in these upcoming events over Summer and are aged 12 years plus, please contact me, Mark Ladbrook for more information.
These bags continue to be available for sale in The Collective each Wednesday. All proceeds from the bags will be used to buy local native plant seedlings for the Creek.
What has evolved from a blend of pagan and Christian tradition, and fuelled by commercialism, is a social festival, a celebration of having the young amongst us and the joy that the laughter in little voices brings.
Tomorrow night, Gold Coast streets will be full of tiny caped and masked marauders threatening terror if their lolly buckets aren’t filled. Adults have already spent over-budget to be prepared to comply, not out of fear of the little monsters but instead of being known as “those” neighbours who have no lollies and therefore must have no hearts.
My wife and I have set a pattern of being a go-to stop for these costumed beggars, just for the joy of it. I set up spooky sounds in our garage, we hang spidery webs from our shade sails, and even occasionally dress up (me a ghastly clown, she a purple witch). I have found that I can inflict my own little horror on the urchins as they reach in to get their booty by snapping the bottom of the lolly bag which causes the items to dance crazily like little demons. Oh, the shrieks. I am judicious in my choice of candidates, most laugh, teens sneer and “phht”, but none have cried. Yet.
All of this plays out under the watchful eyes of the guardians of the ghouls. The parents and carers, some also in costume, many with their own sugary (usually fermented) confection - in liquid form – chat with each other in the street. They also often chat with us. We rarely know each other’s names, but what we do share is a sense, for this one night, of being a community.
And here is the point, Halloween in Australia in the 21st century is a celebration of neighbourhood. Where people who live close to each other share a sense of belonging to each other. Where children encounter adults who, though not related by blood or friendship, share the gifts of acceptance and laughter with them.
The fact that nearly every other message children receive is about wariness around strangers, and the hectic round of school, work, music and multiple sports obligations, means that real community is not often found in Australian neighbourhoods. We live in houses bounded by 6 foot fences, or on sprawling acreage, or in dense high walled apartment and unit blocks where no one plays in the street and community is sometimes only experienced as a shy wave and a quiet hello when there is a coincidence of arrival or departure at driveways.
Our desire should be to change this, and those who have turned their neighbourhoods back into communities will attest to the value of doing so, but for most of us we need to settle for what is offered to us. This weekend, it is a carnival of little people who know nothing of the history, and care not much for their loot, they just want to have fun and laugh. It is not time for the grown ups to judge or analyse, but for this night to become children too and marvel at the joy.
Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query