Forward July 2017 | Page 21

SPORT Team Tennis The tennis program at Guildford Grammar School caters for students of all abilities from the Preparatory School (starting in Year 3) up to Year 12. The program attracts a large number of students, with 58 juniors (Years 7 to 9) and 68 seniors (Years 10 to 12). In order to best cater for all students, we separate the students by age and skill level. Juniors can train up to four times a week on Mondays and Wednesdays, either morning or afternoon, whilst seniors can train on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, with a compulsory extra session for the 1st VIII on Wednesday mornings. Our coaching team is made up essentially of accredited coaches from Sofoulis Tennis Tuition (at least two level II coaches per training session) as well as a number of Old Guildfordians, who have all played at 1st team level. The team strongly believe in the School’s 3G values of Professional, United and Committed, and are consistently striving to make progress through honest conversations between players and coaches. Our aim is for students to show continual progress in terms of their skills, as well as resilience, and to grow in confidence in a team environment. We aim to facilitate Swimming: going forward After much discussion and planning, the Senior School 50m pool will be gas-heated, meaning that both of our pools will now be available for year round usage. Exciting times are ahead for swimming as we welcome and create new opportunities for girls joining us in the Senior School next year, and also work to develop an Aussi Masters swimming program for our Old Guildfordians. Hopefully our facilities upgrade will not only attract more people into our swimming programs, but also help to facilitate improved performance at PSA level. So why swim at GGS? Apart from the obvious health and fitness benefits, the aerobic and no-impact nature of swim ming means that it complements most other sports that our students participate in, especially recovery. We are extremely fortunate, as a community, to have access to such a wide range of aquatics programs for our students. The Preparatory School continues to offer a wide variety of swimming programs for our students. Our Kindergarten and Pre- Primary students can participate in an Aqua Awareness program; in-term swimming lessons are offered to students in Years 1 – 3, as well as JPSSA and Triathlon Club swimming training for our Year 4 – 6 students. In addition to this, the Learn to Swim School continues to cater to over 100 children in Terms 1, 2 and 4. Once students have completed a minimum of Stage 6 in the Learn to Swim School, they can progress into the junior squads of the School’s Swimming Club, Guildford & Kalamunda Districts Swimming Club, which trains year round. Here they can further develop their skills and learn how students’ growth by professionally and passionately coaching our students to enjoy their sport and grow as individuals. Mr Adrien Creuzot Teacher-in-charge of Senior Tennis to race and represent one of the biggest swimming clubs in Western Australia. The club won promotion back into the A-Grade premiership and sent five swimmers to the Australian Championships in Brisbane. Many of our Guildford Grammar School students won medals at Swimming WA competitions throughout the 2016/17 club season. Senior School programs include Year 7 - 10 swimming units in school PE lessons; each year level working towards attainment of a defined skill set. Swimming is also offered as a summer sports option, where a structured coaching program of three levels is offered (including swim gym). PSA Inter-school training sessions are also held in the mornings of Terms 1 and 4, with the aim of preparing our swimmers for PSA competition. There is also now an option for Senior School students to swim year round. Hopefully, permanent heating of the Senior School pool will make this option more attractive for some of our students. Further information on the swimming programs at the School is available by contacting Mr Brett Tongue on brett. [email protected]. Brett Tongue Senior Swimming Coach 21