St. Munchins College recognises the importance of sport in the physical, personal and social development of our students.
Sport raises energy levels and offers a constructive outlet that compliments the academic side of school life. We consider a proper and appropriate marriage of athletic activity and academic pursuit to be important in the development of our students.
It is hoped that the sports program enhances and promotes personal maturity, self-awareness and social development.
We are committed to delivering a first class program of physical activity in our College. This is done through physical education as a core curriculum subject in junior cycle and through a variety of extra-curricular activities.
The primary sport in St. Munchins College is rugby. We are also strongly committed to Gaelic football, hurling, basketball and athletics.
In line with the philosophy of sport set out by the nation’s main sports bodies (IRFU, GAA, FAI) we emphasise the following as core values :
Participation - all students are actively encouraged to participate in sporting activities.
Respect - students are expected to show respect to their team mates, their opponents, referees, coaches and themselves.
Discipline - students are expected to display high levels of discipline when seeking to reach the highest level possible for themselves.
Health & fitness - all students will be encouraged to make the necessary lifestyle, nutritional and health choices in order to achieve a level of fitness commensurate with their abilities.
Pride - all students will recognise that representing our College is a privilege and will be aware of the honour involved in wearing the St Munchins colours.
Teamwork - all students will be aware of the responsibility to the team.
Training – students will attend training punctually and have all the necessary gear.
St Munchins is proud of its tradition of coaches who voluntarily give their time freely to promote sport. We value the special role of the staff member as coach seeing this as an essential element in our outlook on sport.
Our coaches are expected to show correct levels of respect at all times, being aware that they are role models for the students. This will apply in matters of behavior, demeanor, appearance and language. Coaches will strive to deliver a program of training which will guide, teach, facilitate and challenge our students in their athletic odyssey.
General guidelines for sport in St. Munchins are as follows:
1st year; players are encouraged to play and participate. For many students sport can be a fun introduction to secondary school, an opportunity to try out a new sport and an arena to cultivate new friendships. The coach will create a secure reassuring and positive environment. As the year progresses the coach will adopt the role of teacher requiring the student to explore his game more critically.
2nd year to TY; sport becomes more competitive. The coach will challenge the student to become more proficient, to set and achieve higher standards for himself. This will be done through appropriate challenges and the application of pressure. Players will be asked to exhibit a more mature approach to their game addressing deficits in their attitude, application and competence. Greater self-awareness, responsibility and focus is demanded. The student becomes strongly aware of team spirit and the shared goals of the group.
Senior cycle; the coach becomes a facilitator, players are expected to develop themselves as positional specialists and take greater responsibility for their own and the team’s performance. The coach invites opinions and players take on a mature and responsible attitude towards problem solving.
It is hoped above all that sport in St. Munchins will be a rewarding experience, where the student will find long term friendships , learn key life skills and embrace a lifestyle that will serve him well long after he has hung up his boots.
