We provide inclusive sports activities for students of all abilities. Students gain personal satisfaction and develop socially and emotionally through team participation.
St Andrew’s Cathedral School is committed to the ongoing development of all sports offered at St Andrew’s and is particularly keen to see all participants, across all ability levels, developing and improving their sporting skills and sport-specific fitness.
St Andrew’s is a member of the Independent Sporting Association (ISA) which conducts competitions across a range of sports. In addition the ISA also provides pathways to CIS, NSW All Schools, and national levels in these and other more niche sports.
The School has head coaches in each of our ISA team sports. They are responsible for the training programmes, coach and team development and have 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 the School.
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 themselves.
St Andrew’s Cathedral School has full-time Athlete and Team Development Managers, whose primary role is to oversee the individual and team skill and strength development of all students. They work 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.
Our Head Coaches
Antonietta Del Pinto and Rafael Briant
ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS
Antonietta Del Pinto and Rafael Briant are our Athlete Development Managers.
Antonietta is a qualified strength and conditioning coach and physiotherapist with a Masters degree in High Performance Sport. She has worked with a large range of athletes, including national-level Paralympians, elite rugby and football teams and grassroots teams in other codes. Previously, Antonietta was the Head Physiotherapist at Melbourne City Football Club and has spent time at the Waratahs and Western Sydney Wanderers as their strength and conditioning coach. She has been a coach at the School for the past three years.
The Athlete Development Manager role is also shared with Rafael Briant within the PDHPE setting, where you will find him assisting PDHPE practical classes. Rafael has worked in the School’s Strength and Conditioning Centre for the past four years and is also the Head of Women’s Football at St Andrew’s.
You’ll see Rafael and Antonietta attending team training sessions and game days, looking for ways to improve systems and identify talented athletes.
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.
Marty Dawson
RUGBY / CRICKET
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. Prior to 2015 Laki was the First XI coach and now regularly assists the current First XI coach at training and games. 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! Will 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 School 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 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 10 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 the 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 NSW and national high jump title holders. Michael is a St Andrew’s Cathedral School parent with a son at the School, a second son who is an Old Andrean graduate.
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 Cathedral School 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 sample of students and their achievements are below:
| Student | Discipline | Placing | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susie Douglas (OA2018) | 400m Hurdles | Gold medallist | Australian Schools Championships |
| Darcy Holmes (OA2021) | High Jump | Multiple national and state gold medals | Currently 3rd highest jump in the world for an U18 |
| Stevie Caruana (OA2021) | Basketball | State selection | |
| Matthew Levy (OA2006) | Swimming | Multiple gold medals | Paralympics |
| Leo Kershaw (OA2021) | Fencing | Mens sabre | Ranked 3rd in Aust. U20 men’s sabre |
| Katie Tyo (OA2022) | Soccer | Sydney University U18 Women’s Youth League 1 team | U17 Junior Matildas |
| Chelsea Pittman (OA2007) | Netball | Plays for the Adelaide Thunderbirds | Suncorp Super Netball |
| Jonah van Wachem (OA2018) | Freestyle Skiing | 7th place | World Freeride Tour 2020 Japan |
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 and from offsite training, and some fixtures outside of the Sydney Metropolitan Region.
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 |
| Beatrice Coddington | Sports Administrator & Sports Convenor – Netball, Tennis, Swimming, Volleyball, Touch Football, Softball, Squash | bcoddington@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 |
| Jorge Lopez | Sports Convenor – Water polo | jlopez@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Antonietta Del Pinto | Athlete Development Manager | adelpinto@sacs.nsw.edu.au |
| Rafael Briant | Athlete Development Manager | rbriant@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 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 Tennis.
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.
Water Polo is open to boys and girls in Years 7 – 12 who have previously participated in water polo. (Note: Winter water polo 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 two 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, 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 the School 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 7s 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.
Water Polo 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 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 components to Interschools skiing. The first includes 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 (cross-country) skiing is held at the NSW championships and training is held on a Tuesday and/or Thursday morning beginning early in Term 2.
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