We believe that young people who are physically fit and enthusiastically challenged in an enjoyable and safe sporting environment perform better academically. As a result, we provide inclusive sports activities for students of all abilities. Students gain personal satisfaction and develop socially and emotionally through team participation.
The School is committed to the ongoing development of all sports offered and is particularly keen to see all participants, across all ability levels, developing and improving their sporting skills and sport-specific fitness. We have Head Coaches in each of our ISA team sports and they oversee the training programmes of all team coaches and develop targeted strategies and programmes appropriate to each team’s skill level. In addition, they create styles of play that students will follow throughout their time at St Andrew’s Cathedral School.
Competing within the ISA sporting competition, Senior College students are able to participate in a wide range of sports, with pathways to CIS, NSW All Schools and national levels.
Coaches
We have head coaches across our sports who are supported by a talented pool of staff, many of whom are highly trained in coaching or have performed at the highest level of sport.
St Andrew’s Cathedral School has a full-time Athlete and Team Development Manager, whose primary role is to oversee the individual and team skill and strength development of all students at the School. He works closely with our highly experienced strength and conditioning coaches, PDHPE staff, coaching staff and our students, to develop training programmes and drills that will improve health and performance.
Meet our Head Coaches
Teki Tuipulotu
RUGBY
Teki Tuipulotu was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He first played for Tonga in 1994 against Wales. Playing at fullback, he was a regular player for Tonga until his retirement following the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also played in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1999 Rugby World Cup. Teki is the President of the Blacktown Scorpions Rugby Club.
The Coach of the First XV is Marty Dawson, who played rugby union for Randwick in the first division and has been coaching St Andrew’s Cathedral School teams since 2005. His knowledge of the game, experience coaching and his approach to the students has endeared him to students and staff alike. He was appointed as the 1st XV coach in 2019.
Laki Konistis
FOOTBALL
Laki Konistis has been our Football Head Coach since 2015. He is a former Australian squad player and played first-grade football in the National Soccer League, the predecessor to the A-League. He has a Level 3 coaching qualification and has led several NSW junior teams to victories on the national stage.
William Hill
BASKETBALL
Our Basketball Head Coach is William Hill, a former US college player who has trained athletes in the NCAA Basketball at the Division I, II, and III levels. As a former NCAA III player and team captain at Ithaca College, he played all positions 1 through 5, thus giving him a firm understanding of the game. He possesses a strong drive to help athletes fulfill their desired goals, in sport and life. His impact was so great that his player number was retired! He previously assisted Newington College’s successful 1sts team who won the NSW Championships and won gold in the Under 20 Division 1 competition at the National Schools Championships. He has built up a strong basketball culture since joining the School in 2015.
Bill Ronald
FENCING
An old Andrean, Mexico Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Bill was nine-time NSW Champion at age and open in foil and epee. He was the first ever Australian Junior fencing champion and won five National titles at age and open. Bill is a past President of the NSW Association and served 16 years as president of Australian Fencing. He delivered the Fencing event at the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bill returned to St Andrew’s as Head Coach in 2013 and has consistently increased the participation numbers. He was inducted to the Hall of Honour in 2019.
Sam Mooney-Grand
FENCING
Sam is an Old Andrean, having graduated from St Andrew’s Cathedral School’s inaugural IB cohort in 2010. He began fencing at the School, winning both Individual and Team State Championships for the School. He has been part of the national team and has represented Australia since leaving the School, competing first at age group and later open level Commonwealth, Asian and World Championships as well as winning three Open State Championships along the way.
Sam began coaching at Sydney Girls High, before returning to St Andrew’s Cathedral School to coach. In the several years, he has been at the School, he has found it great to be a part of an expanding programme that has seen increased participation and more recently, a larger competition programme available to the students. He and his colleague, Bill Ronald are both passionate about introducing new students to the sport. They take an approach to cater to all levels of participation, whether that be for students who want to give fencing a try for fun or those who have competitive aspirations.
David Deep
TENNIS
David Deep is the owner of Indeep Tennis based at Sydney Boys High School, Moore Park. David has over 20 years of experience in the tennis industry and has spent his last ten years at the city location. He has worked with St Andrew’s Cathedral School as Head Tennis Coach for six years, and always brings high energy and enthusiasm to every session. Dave works with our students in both Winter and Summer seasons at afternoon training sessions, during offsite PDHPE sessions and our ISA Winter competition.
Aaron Frankcomb
SQUASH
Aaron reached an impressive #38 in the World PSA Rankings (winning 4 PSA titles in total), played eight of the world’s top ten players, in 2009, won the Premier Squash League in England (the strongest squash league in the world and represented Australia at the World Team Championships and Commonwealth Games. Ambitious and competitive from a young age, Aaron was Australian Champion in all his age groups at the Australian Junior Championships for under 13, under 15, under 17, and twice for under 19.
Aaron is the founder of the East Coast Squash Academy. With 28+ years of squash playing experience and 16 years of coaching experience of which eight years included full-time coaching, he intimately understands sports science and psychology of the game. Aaron is also a representative NSW Junior State Coach.
Michael Holmes (Head Coach)
ATHLETICS: JUMPS AND RUNNING
Michael is a World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) Level 4 accredited coach and former elite athlete. Over recent years Michael has developed extensive experience coaching young athletes through Little Athletics and St Andrew’s Cathedral School, as well as privately. Michael coaches elite athletes including current State and National high jump title holders. Michael is a St Andrew’s Cathedral School parent with a son at the School, and a recent graduate of St Andrew’s.
Hassan Rasheed
ATHLETICS: SPRINTS AND CROSS COUNTRY
Hassan is a World Athletics Level 4 accredited coach and former elite athlete. Hassan has been coaching young athletes for over a decade, working with Little Athletics NSW and our School, and coaching privately. Hassan has a broad sporting skills and knowledge base and currently coaches State and National level athletes in sprints, middle distance, jumps and throws.
Christopher Watts
ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Christopher Watts is our Athlete Development Manager and Coach. He is a qualified strength and conditioning coach with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and a Masters in Strength and Conditioning. He has worked with a broad range of athletes, including Olympians and professional rugby and rugby league footballers. He has worked with the NSW Institute of Sport, Baseball NSW, Shute Shield Rugby (Western Sydney Two Blues) and, currently, the West Tigers NRL Reserve Grade squad. Personally, Chris has played Gridiron (American Football) for over ten years, representing NSW in 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016.
Chris works within the Fitness Centre along with a highly experienced team of strength and conditioning coaches including Rafael Briant and Antonietta Del Pinto an accredited physiotherapist, to develop the physical skills of all teams and athletes. You’ll also see Chris attend team training sessions and game days looking for ways to improve systems and identify talented athletes.
Fitness Centre / Strength and Conditioning
The Fitness Centre is open Monday to Friday before and after school. It is available for all teams and students to use during the season to improve their strength and fitness. We have a qualified team of Strength and Conditioning coaches able to provide students with training programmes tailored to their sport and experience level.
Elite Athletes
St Andrew’s is supportive of students who excel in a sport not offered as part of our Sports Programme.
St Andrew’s has had many students who, while representing the school in our various sports, have also excelled to an elite level in their individual sport pursuits. At St Andrew’s, our programmes and coaching staff assist these students to achieve their sporting goals.
A small example of students and their achievements are below:
| Student | Discipline | Placing | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susie Douglas (2018) | 400m Hurdles | Gold Medallist | Australian Schools Championships |
| Darcy Holmes (2021) | High Jump | Multiple Gold Medals | Currently 3rd Highest jump in the world for an U18 |
| Declan Moore (2014) | Rugby | Plays for Munster in the Irish Rugby Championship | |
| Stevie Caruana (2021) | Basketball | State Selection | |
| Matthew Levy (2006) | Swimming | Multiple Gold Medals | Olympics |
| Leo Kershaw (2021) | Fencing | Mens Sabre | Ranked 3rd National in U20 men’s Sabre |
| Katie Tyo (2022) | Soccer | Sydney University U18 Womens Youth League 1 Team | U17 Junior Matildas |
| Chelsea Pittman (2007) | Netball | Plays for the Adelaide Thunderbirds | Suncorp Super Netball |
Venues
The School bases most of its sporting programmes out of Sydney University and Wentworth Park. St Andrew’s also has a multi-purpose basketball court on-site, as well as a modern well-equipped gym and spin room. Our priority is to see students playing and participating in safe, high-quality environments. For more details on these facilities, click here: Our facilities
Buses are provided to offsite training, and some fixtures when they occur outside of the Sydney Metro.
Training and transport
Buses are provided by the school to and from all afternoon sports training offsite. Generally, buses arrive back at school by approximately 5.30pm.
Buses are not provided to any fixtures inside the Sydney Metro. Buses with seat belts are provided for travel outside the Sydney Metropolitan Region. This includes ISA opposition schools such as Chevalier College, Oxley College, Central Coast Grammar School, Blue Mountains Grammar School etc. Students are always supervised by a St Andrew’s Cathedral School staff member on each bus.
Sports Contacts
| Name | Title | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Ric van Wachem | Director of Sport and Co-curricular | rvw@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Tamsyn Kelson | Head of Sport | tkelson@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Karen Brown | Co-curricular Administrator | kbrown@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Lauren Archer | Sports Administrator & Netball, Tennis, Dance, Swimming, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Touch Football, Softball Convenor | larcher@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Richard Butler | Sports Convenor – Rugby, Football (Male), Basketball, Athletics, Cricket | rbutler@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Phoebe Hunter | Sports Convenor – Football (Female), Hockey, Fencing, Fit4Life, Squash, Mountain Biking | phunter@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Jeff Long | Sports Convenor – Waterpolo | jlong@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Chris Watts | Athlete Development Manager | cwatts@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
Summer Sport (Term 1, Term 4)
Summer Sport at St Andrew’s Cathedral School is optional for all students in Years 7 to 12. Whilst the programme is optional, we continuously have a significant number of students choosing to participate in the range of sports offered in the Summer Sport Programme. Competition takes place every Saturday, with training for each team held in the afternoons throughout the school week.
Summer Sport Offerings
Basketball is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-2pm. Our Saturday home venue and training venue is Sydney University.
Cricket is open to students in Years 7-12. While Cricket is played predominately by boys, girls are welcome in the competition. Students will train two afternoons per week. Teams play in the ISA competition on a Saturday, and it is an all-day commitment for players. Our Saturday home venue and training venue is Sydney University.
Touch Football is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-2pm. Our Saturday home venue is Macquarie University, and our training venue is Wentworth Park.
Softball is an ISA girls sport for girls in Years 7-12. Students train twice a week. Teams play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-2pm. Our Saturday training and home venue is Wentworth Park.
Summer Tennis is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Sydney Boys High School. There are no Saturday fixtures for Summer Tenni
Summer Fencing is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12 who have previously participated in fencing. Note: Winter Fencing is for all beginner students. Students will train one afternoon per week at school. While there are no Saturday fixtures for fencing in summer, there will be opportunities for team selection to represent the School at inter-school competitions throughout the summer season.
Waterpolo is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12 who have previously participated in Waterpolo. Note: Winter Waterpolo is for all beginner students. Students will train one afternoon per week at Ruth Everuss Pool. Fixtures are held on Saturday mornings between 8am-2pm. The competition runs for 10 rounds, with an additional 2 weeks of finals.
Summer Hockey is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Daceyville. Fixtures are held on Friday nights in term 4 at Cintra Hockey complex between 5-9pm.
Ultimate Frisbee is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Moore Park. There will be opportunities for team selection to represent the School at 2 Ultimate Frisbee Gala Days throughout the season.
Mountain Biking is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week in the fitness centre at school. Students will participate in a range of rides and several races against other schools on Saturday mornings between 8am-4pm.
Squash is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Sydney University. There will be opportunities for team selection to represent St Andrew’s in the NSW Schools competition. These fixtures will be held on a Saturday morning between 8am-2pm. The competition runs for 10 rounds, with an additional 2 weeks of finals.
Dance is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train two afternoons per week at school. Students will learn a routine to perform in 2 Eisteddfods throughout the season.
Rugby 7’s is open to girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Wentworth Park. Fixtures are held on Monday nights in Term 4 at Barker College between 5-9pm.
Swimming is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. The programme will run in Term 4 and Term 1 leading into the ISA swimming carnival, with students training one morning per week at Cook and Phillip pool. The school swimming carnival is held in Term 4.
Volleyball is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Sydney University. There will be opportunities for team selection to represent the School at 2 Schools Cup Competitions throughout the season.
Winter Sport (Term 2, Term 3)
The Winter Sport Programme is compulsory for all students in Years 7 to 11. Whilst it is optional for Year 12 students to enroll in a Winter Sport, we encourage Year 12 students to participate. Competition takes place every Saturday, with at least one training session per week held after school. Students in 1sts and 16-years teams train twice a week.
There are other sports offered outside of the compulsory sports offered that can be undertaken as an additional to the compulsory programmes.
Winter Sport Compulsory Offerings
Rugby is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train two afternoons per week. Teams will play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-2pm. Our Saturday home venue and training venue is St Andrews Oval, Sydney University.
Football is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams will play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-3pm. We have two Saturday home venues and training venues – Moore Park and Wentworth Park.
Tennis is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams will play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-12pm. We have two Saturday home venues and training venues – Sydney Boys High and Eastcourts.
Hockey is open to girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams will play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-12pm. Our training venue is Sydney Olympic Park and our Saturday home venue is Moorebank Hockey Fields.
Netball is open to girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week, with all ‘A’ teams having an additional training session. Teams will play in the ISA competition on a Saturday morning between 8am-3pm. Our Saturday home venue and training venue is Sydney University.
Fencing is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at school. On Saturday mornings between 8am-12pm, non competitive fencers will train, and those who are competitive fencers will participate in inter-school competition. There will be opportunities for team selection to represent the School in the Interschool Epee championships on Saturdays throughout the season.
Waterpolo is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Ruth Everuss Pool. Fixtures are held on weeknights between 6pm-9.30pm.
Squash is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Sydney University. Students will participate in an inter-school competition at Sydney University on a Saturday morning between 8am-12pm. There will be opportunities for team selection to represent St Andrew’s in the NSW Schools competition.
Fit 4 Life is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. The programme runs for between 3 and 5 hours on a Saturday, with students participating in hikes, climbing and kayaking activities across 10 weeks. Students will be required to travel to different venues for activities around Sydney. There is no weekday training requirement however we encourage students to avail themselves of the gym and the exceptional coaches that we have.
Additional Winter Sport Offerings
Dance is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train two afternoons per week at school. Students will learn a routine to perform in 3 Eisteddfods throughout the season.
Athletics is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train one afternoon per week at Sydney Olympic Park. Training will prepare students for the school Athletics carnival and invitational carnivals in Term 3 and 4.
Cross Cross Country is open to boys and girls, in Years 7-12. Students will train two mornings per week at school. Training starts in Term 1 and will prepare students for the ISA Cross Country carnival in Term 2.
There are two separate areas in Interschools skiing. The first being the downhill disciplines of moguls, slalom, freestyle, skier X and boarder X with the regional competition in the last week of the June/July school holidays. The second discipline of XC skiing is held at the state championships and training is held on a Tuesday and/or Thursday morning beginning early in Term 1.
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