Sport a ‘principal’ priority at Academy
THE Patrician Academy Mallow will take on St Paul’s College Oughterard this weekend in the Dr Eamon O’Sullivan Cup (All Ireland Senior Football C Championship) Final.
The school’s top football side have captured the attention of all inside and outside the school with principal Elaine O’Regan one of their biggest fans.
“There is a great mix of young lads from the likes of Clyda, Mallow and, of course, Kilshannig in the school” said the person charged with making sure the all-boys school is as good as it can be in all aspects of the pupils’ development.
“When the boys are playing for their clubs they can be the fiercest of rivals but when they put on the Academy jersey they are all on the one team. When they are here they just gel, they are a great bunch of lads. They look out for each other on the pitch and in class together.
“I have thought those 6th year lads for the last five years and I can say they are just a great bunch of lads; a credit to their families and to the school.”
As school principal, O’Regan obviously is responsible for the academic achievements of all in her charge; however, she is also an advocate for sport in young peoples’ lives. “I think sport is very important. Everybody needs a good work-life balance and that goes for students as it goes for anyone else. Even though sport isn’t for everybody we try to offer as many different sports as we can to cater for as many students as we can.
“PE is very important here so there is now one period of PE for every class. That wasn’t always the case here. We are keen to push that and it has evolved into six and eight week cycles where the kids can do things like badminton to volley ball – we try to get as many kids involved.
“We also have a new Astroturf out the back of the school as well so there are even activities ongoing through lunchtime – even if you are just a spectator there is plenty to get involved in here.
“For those kids that aren’t into sport there are a host of clubs and other activities catered for so like-minded kids can come together to get involved in what interests them.”
The benefits of a good sporting run also feature strongly for all concerned in the Academy with many off-field benefits likely to emerge from this historic year.
“It is a very exciting time for us here and it may help attract boys to us that may not have considered here before. Many boys may have been looking at the likes of Christians in Cork or other strong sporting schools. There are definitely boys out there, perhaps in transition year, that would be putting the feelers out, who may now consider coming here next year because of this team’s success.”
While the success of the school’s football team has been a welcome boost for all concerned, the principal is keen to point out that there is much more happening in the area of sport inside the gates of one of Mallow’s more recognisable schools.
“Rugby is back, too, and we are delighted to have it back. This was a rugby school back in the day and recently we were also approached by Mallow Rugby about supporting the game so we are now an emerging school competing in blitzes at three different grades, and hopefully that will grow and bring success as well.
“We are delighted to be working with Mallow Rugby Club who had a brilliant year themselves this year and we are really delighted for them.”
There may be a panel of around 30 players but this run to the final is fuelled by a lot more than just 30.
“The whole school is involved. The other day we brought all the lads down together to the gym and we put up our U15 hurlers that are going into a Munster Final as well. We brought the whole school down and you could hear a pin drop. There was reverence there. We got all the boys standing up and we got Pat Heffernan, our Sports Co-ordinator, up to speak to the lads about what a big moment this is for us all. It is a huge thing for the school, you can feel the buzz around the place with the smaller younger boys. The team feed off that.”
All this participation and success on the field comes at a cost (€20k just for buses last year) however, Mrs O’Regan and her colleges have an ambitious plan to cater for the ever-growing number of student teams looking to play representative sports.
“We are on the road so much now that we are fundraising for a new school bus because we have so many games and spend a small fortune on transport. Our aim is to raise €100k so we can also invest in other bits and pieces for the school as well, particularly in the area of technology for the new junior cycle and in the computer room. At the moment, we are doing well but there is a long way to go and a lot more fundraising to be done.”
Regardless of the result this weekend, the current bunch of young stars at the Patrician Academy have already won the hearts and minds of those who know them best – so, in the grand scheme of things, they are already champions.