The Maribyrnong Sports Academy/Maribyrnong College  is delighted to announce that 5 of its alumni are heading to Tokyo competing in 5 different sports!   The state-funded specialist sports school was established in 2007 and takes promising teenage talent and teams it with the best coaching. The results speak for themselves.

The Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) Honour Roll continues to grow.  The upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games are topping off an amazing few years of success for current and former student-athletes from the Academy.

The following former MSA student-athletes will be competing in Tokyo;

- Connor Metcalfe – Football

- Nathan Pellissier – Para-Table Tennis

- Luke Plapp – Cycling

- Gronya Somerville – Badminton

- Reba Stewart – Taekwondo

Luke Plapp said, “I’m so excited to become an Olympian in Tokyo.  It’s a dream come true.  I couldn’t have done it without the Maribyrnong Sports Academy.”

MSA’s first and only Olympian prior to this year’s event was Boxer, Ibby Balla, who competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games. 

MSA’s impact isn’t limited to Olympic sports with numerous alumni currently competing at the elite level of their sport.  MSA has provided the AFL and AFLW with 27 Athletes include AFL stars Touk Miller and Zak Butters and AFLW Stars Monique Conti and Ellie McKenzie. Seb Pasquali, Aaron Anderson and Polly Doran are just 3 of the 11 players who have been signed by A-league or W-League teams, Joe Medew-Ewen made his Sheffield Shield Cricket debut this year and Zac Triplett was recently signed by NBL champions Melbourne United.

A full list of MSA Athletes who have represented their country or played at a professional level can be found on our On-Line Honour Wall

 These former students all benefited from the MSA environment which provides the perfect mix of education and sport.  They also developed with support from the talented MSA staff which includes 7 former Olympians on its teaching and coaching staff to guide. 

 MSA staff includes the following Olympians; Ryan Carneli (Taekwondo), Kellie Lucas (Badminton), Georgia Nanscawan (Hockey), Tania Paterson (Diving - New Zealand), Ross Smith (Badminton), Andrew Smith (Hockey), Erin Walklate (Badminton) and Glenn Wharfe (Badminton).

 Other MSA staff who have also competed at the highest level include Scott Lucas (AFL), Clint McKay (Cricket) and Eloise Southby (Netball).

MSA Director Mark McAllion said “MSA is set up to help kids achieve their sporting dreams.  Amazing facilities are one thing but the experience and expertise of the staff that student-athletes work with every day, is key. 

We’re very proud of our alumni who will become Olympians and Paralympians in Tokyo – they’re fantastic examples of kids who made the most of the resources they had access to while part of the program.”

MSA through its High Performance Preparation classes, High Performance Coaching program and student support initiatives continues to prepare student-athletes for life after high school.  MSA looks forward to continuing to punch above its weight and provide more athletes to Australia’s Olympic, Paralympic and other elite sporting teams in the future. 

MORE ABOUT THE ATHLETES ….

Lucas Plapp:  Luke finished his time at MSA in 2018 before making his way to the AusCycling’s high performance centre in Adelaide.  Since Luke has left MSA he has won 2 Junior World Championships and is set to have a big Olympics with the Cycling team.

Gronya Somerville: Gronya has represented Australia at 2 Commonwealth Games and now adds an Olympics Games to her CV.  With her doubles partner Gronya finished 4th in the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast in 2018 and has medalled many times in tournaments right around the World.

Reba Stewart: Reba has been selected in the Australian Olympic Taekwondo Team in the Women’s +67Kgs Women’s division.  Reba is the youngest of our four Athletes having finished her time at MSA in 2019.

Connor Metcalfe: Connor arrived at MSA from Newcastle back in 2013 and his dedication to his sport was noticed back then. This year he has debuted for the Socceroos in World Cup Qualifiers, won a A-League premiership with Melbourne City, was selected in the A-League Team of the year and will become an Olyroo in Tokyo.

Nathan Pellissier: With his eye’s fully focused on the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the sport of Table Tennis, Nathan Pellissier has had an amazingly busy 24 months, making sure his dream of representing Australia at the Games is realised.  Born with cerebral palsy, life has presented many challenges to Nathan over the journey, which he has overcome. Nathan sees making the Paralympic team as just another one of those challenges. Nathan graduated from MSA in 2014.

MORE ABOUT MSA ….

The Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) is Victoria’s only State Government funded Specialist Sports High School with 575 student-athletes on Government Scholarship. 

Entry to the program is via an application and selection process which considers high performance sport potential and suitability for the balance between sport, academic performance, effort and behaviour. Student athletes applying for a place in MSA are NOT required to live in the local area.

The Program has an individual development focus and includes High Performance Coaching, Strength & Conditioning, Performance Psychology, Nutrition Education, Athlete Development (such as media training, specific career counselling, etc), Injury Management and Rehabilitation.

MSA is a high performance sports program for emerging teenage athletes delivered within Maribyrnong College.