Philip Sillars, 11, demonstrates the skills learned during the rugby coaching. (Pictures by Daniel Guerin, 0593558)
ST MARTIN’S Primary School was a hive of sporting activity on Saturday for the HSBC Morning of Excellence. A total of 252 children between the ages of eight and 11 took part in 10 different sports.
More than 20 coaches and 15 helpers oversaw the morning. The fund raising event for the school, which is in its 11th year, is organised by the PTA, the chairwoman of which is Caroline Bradley.
‘The idea of the morning is to get in expert coaches from sports across the board so that kids who are sporting and those who maybe aren’t can try out a different sport,’ she said. ‘It keeps the kids busy, active and out of mischief. It’s all about having fun and making new friends as well.’
The 10 sports on offer were cricket, football, netball, rounders, rugby, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and, for the first time, judo. The Japanese martial art proved to be a very popular addition.
One girl who had a go at it for the first time was 11-year-old Ellie Bougourd from St Martin’s Primary.
‘I enjoyed it,’ she said.
‘I liked learning how to throw people and we learned how to get out of a throw. I would like to carry on and throw my Dad.’
An activity that also proved to be popular was netball.
Megan Barnett played this sport and had a good time.
‘We did training and we had lots of games,’ said the 11-year-old.
‘We did shooting as well. It was really fun.
‘I would love to do it again.’
While netball was all girls, they also had a go at the more male-orientated sport of cricket.
That pleased the Guernsey Cricket Board development coach, Hannah Mechem, who ran the session.
She had 25 children taking part.
‘We had some girls there, which was good,’ she said.
‘I wasn’t expecting too many girls, but there was a handful. The most improved player [award] went to a girl – Katie Rowe.’
Mechem believed the morning was a good way to introduce her sport to children.
‘They are really important,’ she said. ‘They are taster sessions. They choose what they want to do which is good.
‘Some had played the sport before and some hadn’t and this session bridged the gap between the two.’
Rugby was also a hit with the children, especially eight-year-old Liam Torode, who had a great time.
He really enjoyed rugby rounders, which was a cross between the two activities.
‘We also practised kicking the ball and learning how to tackle. But rugby rounders was my favourite,’ said the St Martin’s schoolboy.
Each sport gave awards for the best and the most improved player while all the children received a T-shirt and a cap.
The States Dairy donated milk and ice creams and a brochure was given to all there with details of all the sports involved.
Article posted on 17th June, 2008 - 2.29pm
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