“If we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship with one another.” 1 John 1:7
To the family and friends of St Edmund’s College,
We are well and truly in the midst of the winter co-curricular season, with all our winter team sports (Basketball, Football and Rugby Union) having seen their first few games. It is a wonderful sight to see our ovals alive with the energy of coaching and training throughout the week and to see our young men developing and refining their skills and using these skills in partnership with each other to form a strong team. Working within a team is a great skill in itself. The overall aim of the co-curricular program is to develop these team skills, to develop the specific skills of the particularly sport and to develop a strong sense of positive sportsmanship and a healthy sense of competition. Of course winning games is a great consequence of the many hours of training and playing and we all enjoy a victory, but it is not the ultimate goal of our program. The co-curricular program is designed to complement the spiritual and academic development of our students through a sense of identity, belonging and happiness. The activities provide another level of interaction between students and staff and between students and other members of the College community.
Involvement in the co-curricular program has been a long tradition here at St Edmund’s College. A sense of pride and tradition is developed through the activities. All members of our community who contribute to our co-curricular program must reflect the core values of St Edmund’s College – players, coaches, managers, co-ordinators. This includes students, members of staff, parents, old boys and members of our wider community.
I cannot stress strongly enough that there is absolutely no place for poor behaviour and poor sportsmanship in our co-curricular program. This is the case for both students and adults involved in the program. There is no place for a coach who belittles the opposing team or belittles his or her own team when things are not going in the right direction. There is no place for a parent who yells abuse at referees when decisions are not popular. There is no place for inappropriate language, fiery tempers, threats, ridicule, sarcasm or any other type of behaviours which contribute to an unhealthy sports environment and demonstrate poor sportsmanship.
I would encourage all parents involved in our co-curricular program to carefully read the following material from https://www.playbytherules.net.au/.
Parents play an invaluable role in club and community sports. Occasionally, however, some become over emotional, verbally abusive and sometimes even physically aggressive. It’s important that the inappropriate actions of a few parents don’t ruin the sporting experience for everyone else.
Information to help you understand the issue
Angry parents:
- sometimes use foul language, make threatening gestures and remarks directed at the coach, umpire or other team
- have a win at all costs mentality
- are likely to ‘coach’ and ‘referee’ from the sidelines and concentrate on faults and failings rather than successes
- diminish everyone’s enjoyment of the game.
Inappropriate behaviour by parents can result in:
- children withdrawing from sport
- reduced membership
- fewer people willing to volunteer for coaching and official positions; and/or
- an increased risk of legal action. Clubs have a legal responsibility to address behaviours that offend community standards or are against the law (e.g., racial vilification, sexual harassment, criminal or common assault).
Where would junior club sport be without mums and dads? Who would ferry children back and forth between sporting fixtures, hand out half-time oranges, wash uniforms and make sure players arrive on time wearing both boots?
We all know that, if not for mums and dads, we would struggle to find enough club administrators, referees, coaches, scorers and line markers, and the spectator stands would be bare. Without a doubt, they are an invaluable resource and an essential part of any sport.
But what about those parents who turn ugly? You know the type. They scream instructions from the sidelines, admonish the referee (who is often barely a teenager), challenge the coach, sometimes storm onto the playing field or even get into a punch-up with an equally passionate opposing team parent. It happens.
So what can we do about it? What role do coaches play? How about club administrators? How can parents successfully tread that line between supportive and aggressive?
Tips for parents:
- Be a good role model. Children watch and learn from you, so make sure you set a good example.
- Avoid a ‘win at all costs’ attitude. Although you may think winning is important, the focus for junior sport should be on fun.
- Be aware that your abusive behaviour may be against the law. Ask yourself, ‘Would my mother be upset or offended by what I am saying or doing?’ If the answer is yes then it’s best to sit down and be quiet.
- Try not to be critical of coaches, referees or umpires. Many are volunteers who give their time to make sport possible for all our children, and some are just learning. If you have some constructive advice for them, leave it until after the game or have a chat with the head coach or referee.
Parents can help create a positive sporting environment and reduce sport rage by being good role models.
- Encourage fair play
- Emphasise trying hard and having fun, not only winning
- Never ridicule or yell at a child for making a mistake
- Cheer and acknowledge good plays by both teams
- Thank the official, coach and other team after the game.
- Respect officials, coaches and opponents
- Accept decisions by officials – they are human and can make mistakes.
- Deal with issues in a controlled and professional manner after the game.
- Keep your emotions in check
- Be enthusiastic, but don’t scream instructions from the side line
- Don’t get into shouting matches with anyone
- Never use bad language or harass others.
- Uphold your club’s code of conduct
- Understand, uphold and support your club’s code of conduct for parents.
- If you have put your hand up to be an official in junior sport it’s important to understand all your club’s rules and regulations, the spirit of the game and the relevant codes of conduct.
This link is a light hearted look (with a very serous message) at the issue of good sportsmanship by the community: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rugby-cartoon-sideline-parents-are-ugly/FQBFQ2WJQCKZNEVL4W4SEY25WU/
Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
Last Sunday the Catholic Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. There is perhaps no doctrine as essential to the Christian religion as the Holy Trinity. The belief in one God in three Persons makes Christianity unique in all the world. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that God is a relationship of perfect love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity welcomes us as sons and daughters into this family communion of love.
The Holy Trinity is at the core of e importance in Christian life. All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. All Sacraments are administered (we are baptised, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, and our marriage blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity. We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the name of the Holy Trinity. Whilst a belief in the Holy Trinity is at the very core of our lives as Catholics, it is one of those great mysteries that grows richer and deeper the more we engage with it as a mystery.
There is a very old and much-repeated story about St. Augustine, one of the intellectual giants of the Church. He was walking by the seashore one day, attempting to conceive of an intelligible explanation for the mystery of the Trinity. As he walked along, he saw a small boy on the beach, pouring seawater from a shell into a small hole in the sand. “What are you doing, my child?” asked Augustine. “I am trying to empty the sea into this hole,” the boy answered with an innocent smile. “But that is impossible, my dear child,” said Augustine. The boy stood up, looked straight into the eyes of Augustine and replied, “What you are trying to do – comprehend the immensity of God with your small head – is even more impossible.” Then he vanished. The child was an angel sent by God to teach Augustine a lesson. Later, Augustine wrote: “You see the Trinity if you see love.” According to him, the Father is the lover, the Son is the loved one and the Holy Spirit is the personification of the very act of loving. This means that we can understand something of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity more readily with the heart than with our feeble mind. Evagrius of Pontus, a Greek monk of the 4th century who came from what is now Turkey in Asia and later lived out his vocation in Egypt, said: “God cannot be grasped by the mind. If God could be grasped, God would not be God.”
Prayer for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity
Glory be to the Father,
Who by His almighty power and love created me,
making me in the image and likeness of God.
Glory be to the Son,
Who by His Precious Blood delivered me from hell,
and opened for me the gates of heaven.
Glory be to the Holy Spirit,
Who has sanctified me in the sacrament of Baptism,
and continues to sanctify me
by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.
Glory be to the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity,
now and forever.
Amen
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever
Joe Zavone
Principal
Christus Lux Mea