“Why is there no Pre-Season Catholic Schools Tournament?”

Just like most issues over the past 11 years that I have been doing High School Top 200 I have already spoken about this and I already have pointed out some of the big issues that surround this topic but I will talk about it again because for me I see this as a massive wasted opportunity. I look at these teams every year and every week and think about the possibilities that if something like this was created how huge this could be for Catholic Schools and also for Education, Rugby and Working opportunities there would be for the boys. I have said this before about the Catholic Schools and how with so many big boys schools there are in the country and they are really good educationally and sports wise but have such a strong Alma Mater or Old Boys system that all they need to do is put it together and really make something of this bond which is the Catholic Church, and this is coming from a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, LDS or Mormon whatever you may know us as, I think the Catholic bond can be such a strong point for these Schools.

What I want to point out first and for me it has to be Rugby first because this is what this page is about, but it will lead into the other issues. Every year the top 1st XV’s in the country struggle to find Pre Season games against other top schools that would help build and test their side before the season starts. There are alot of bumps in the road with money first because travel, accommodation, food, games time, rugby resources and stuff like that that goes into setting up a strong Pre-Season to get your boys ready. So here was always my thought from almost the beginning of High School Top 200 when I learned how many Catholic Schools there were in the country and how many of them were so good at Rugby. My thought was “Why is there no Pre-Season Catholic Schools Tournament?” Why has this not been worked out? And if it has been spoken about and tried, who are the guys putting a stop to it? Because in all honesty and just from a Rugby stand point you have to be an idiot if you were against this because there are so many advantages for the Schools Relationships with each other that would lead down into the players. I automatically looked at the amount of schools and how many were boys schools and how many of them were such big names in the country, many of them National Ranked in the Top 25 and there was no whispers of what you could make of this. Take a look at all the Catholic School I know of around the country then I’ll put my twist on it and what they should do.

De La Salle College (Auckland)
Francis Douglas Memorial College (Taranaki)
Hato Paora College (Palmerston North)
John Paul College (Rotorua)
Liston College (Auckland)
Roncalli College (Timaru)
Rosmini College (North Harbour)
Sacred Heart College (Auckland)
St Bernards College (Lower Hutt)
St Bedes College (Christchurch)
St John’s College, Hamilton
St Kevins College (Oamaru)
St John’s College Hastings
St Patrick’s College, Town (Wellington)
St Paul’s College (Auckland)
St Peters College (Auckland)
St Thomas of Canterbury College  (Christchurch)
St Patrick’s College, SIlverstream
Verdon College (Invercargill)
St Peters College, Gore
St Peters College, Palmerston
St Ignatius Loyola Catholic College (Drury)
Bishop Viard College (Porirua)
Aquinas College (Tauranga)

These are all the ones that I know off the top of my head and sorry if I have missed your school but look at the amount of schools that could be represented if there was a Pre-Season Catholic Tournament. Here’s what I will do for you because I know to everyone reading there are big differences in talent from one school to the next and so I will split this into two groups so that the Tournament won’t be so one sided. The aim for this Tournament is to get a better relationship between schools that you would never meet up with and having a Preseason Tournament/Camp with all these teams would get everyone together under a common cause and that’s to build relationships/Networks under this same banner of Catholic Secondary Schools. You can have turns at hosting the Tournament at your school and you can get Old Boys involved, the Rugby Provinces involved, Community Groups so the boys can offer service and also bring in the Educational Institutes in the area to come in and hold presentations as well. So take a look at the 2 Groups and if you are attending these schools and you don’t know these names maybe you need to go study a little bit.

Group Linus

De La Salle College
Francis Douglas Memorial College
Liston College
Rosmini College
Sacred Heart College  
St Bedes College
St John’s College, Hamilton  
St Patrick’s College, Town
St Paul’s College
St Peters College
St Thomas of Canterbury College  
St Patrick’s College, SIlverstream

Group Cletus

Roncalli College
St Kevins College
St John’s College Hastings
St Bernard’s College  
Verdon College
St Peters College, Gore
St Peters College, Palmerston
St Ignatius Loyola Catholic College
Bishop Viard College
Aquinas College
Hato Paora College
John Paul College

Look at how many top teams there are in the country all under the Catholic “Umbrella” and the talent that would come out of these schools. Think about it there would be 720 players all in one place for some hard games of Rugby and a lifetime experience. Notice where I have put your school and if you have a problem with where I have your school that is another conversation that we will leave for now but the purpose is so that all teams get to build their team, try and figure out where their strengths and weaknesses are, build relationships within your team and then to prepare for the season. What the games will do and the Tournament will do is build players and combos so that you know as a Coaching staff and team what works for you and the Comp you play in and also how the Leadership group will do throughout the teams hardest moments. This is easy to see the Rugby benefits but when you get to mix with the other schools and you get to see players from Porirua, Tauranga, Hamilton, Hawks Bay, Christchurch, Invercargill/Gore, Auckland, Wellington and Harbour it will become more than just Rugby. Sometimes we miss opportunities to connect with other teams because we are so focused on the scoeline that we miss a chance to find common points of Joy and Happiness that this game can provide off the field.

One of the biggest things for me when I look at something like this happening is the effect it can have when you leave school and enter adulthood and you may move to a certain area or city because you went there for this tournament. Think about attending University and recognizing players that were at the same Tournaments that you were at or playing in the same Club team and having those same experiences all brought together by this common Catholic School connection. Heading into the workforce is sometimes the worst but being able to connect with Alumni from other schools under that same Catholic Umbrella could really help out some of these young boys and help them really settle into adult life style. We all love Rugby, the physicality, bus trips, friendships and memories but this can lead into something more and just that little connection, that little familiarity and shared experience could make this game all the more worth it and special. So someone make a move to start this “Pre-Season Catholic Tournament”