Six MSA Students make AFL U18 Vic Metro Squad

Maribyrnong Sports Academy has provided 6 players (2 former students and 4 current) to the Vic Metro squad for the 2018 AFL Under 18 National Carnival.

Jack Evans, Emerson Jeka, Zak Butters, Stefan Radovanovic, Buku Khamis and Jack Bytel have all been selected in the initial squad of 37 players.

Head coach of Maribyrnong Sports Academy’s AFL program Torin Baker says it’s a great validation for our Academy pathway. “It’s an excellent result not only for the players but for the program here at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. I know the boys have worked so hard to get in the squad and now they have it all in front of them over the next 4 weeks.”

Of the 37 players selected only 10 students come from outside the private and catholic school sector, with 6 of those 10 from Maribyrnong and 1 from Rowville Sports Academy.  Baker says the State School Sports Academy system continues to produce. “There does seem to be a bit of a weighting towards non-government schools but the fact that Maribyrnong Sports Academy has more kids in the squad than any other school is a real validation for what we do here and how our students go about their schooling.  This is another fantastic result for our Academy backing up on last year as well.”

The Vic Metro team is scheduled to play 2 of its 4 games interstate at Optus Stadium Perth and Spotless Stadium in Sydney. The remaining 2 games will be played at the MCG and Etihad Stadium. Baker admits it will be a tough schedule for those involved. “The first of the four games is this weekend in Perth with the Vic Metro team taking on the very strong West Australians. It’s expected most of the squad will get a run in the first two games before the squad will be cut down to 25 for the final two games against Vic Country and South Australia. I think most of our boys should get at least one game in the Championships, with Emerson being a bottom age player, and he has been in the AFL Academy, it will be a great result for him to have that one game, but I’d expect the other boys who are top age to play multiple games and some might play all.”

High Performance Manager at Maribyrnong Sports Academy Brent Vallance says the amount of work put into these boys since they started at the Academy has no doubt helped them along the way. “It’s not just a validation of what we do with these Students on a Phys Prep basis but we have had a couple of very good staff working with them along the way and it’s great for our partnership with AFL Victoria, an extension of that partnership we provide here with our Strength and conditioning. There is no surprise that some of our biggest users not only during school time but also in their own personal time of our facilities here at Maribyrnong are these 6 boys.”

42 Students from the AFL program here at Maribyrnong Sports Academy are set to embark on a 6-day tour of Darwin which will take in a game against a Tiwi Islands team as well as Sports and Cultural tours.

Maribyrnong Sports Academy is a part of Maribyrnong College, providing a Sport Specialist program to just under 600 Student/Athlete’s.  In the program student undertake their normal education day which includes ADP or Athlete Development Program.  ADP allows the students to partake in Strength and Conditioning work as well as having access to Dietitians and Sports Phycologists.

Academy Acrobats

Over the school holidays Maribyrnong Sports Academy had representation at the Acrobatic World Age Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.  Former student Tori Singleton and current year 8 student Katelyn Dullard were amongst the World's best in competition.

On ya Bike

2018 started off on a great note for Year 12 Maribyrnong Sports Academy student Lucas Plapp after he became the Under 19 Australian Time Trial champion at the National Road championships earlier this year in Buninyong, near Ballarat. And it’s about to get bigger.

The effort of becoming the Under 19 Australian Champion is even more significant due to the fact that Lucas only turned 17 on Christmas day last year.

His time for the 21.6k time trial of 29 minutes and 32 secs was 12.5 secs faster than second place getter Tyler Lindorf but a 10 second penalty bought the result back to a much closer margin of 2.5 secs. The time was also 32 seconds faster than the bronze medallist Mitchell Wright. 

Lucas also won a Gold Medal in the U19 Teams Pursuit Final at the National Track Championships in Brisbane.  Along with teammates Graeme Frislie, Jensen Plowright and Bill Simpson the Victorian combination defeated Queensland by 1.95 secs. Add to that a Gold in the Scratch race and a Gold in the Maddison and that adds up to a very cool 4 national titles in 30 days.

Lucas, who has been at Maribyrnong College since year 7 says he is honoured the be crowned National Champion, “To win a race against the best in your country is one thing but then to get the title of National Champion is something you only dream off.  To get this far has only been possible by the help of the team around me including my parents, and the Phys Prep staff at Maribyrnong Sports Academy who push me to the limits and make sure I get the best out of every session un the gym and on the track.

While completing his VCE this year is his main priority, Lucas will continue to mix his sporting prowess and schooling for the next 5 months, “My biggest challenge in now in front of me having been picked by Cycling Australia for the Junior Track and Road World Championships.  The Track champs are in Switzerland in August and the Road Champs are in Austria in September.  In between, I will base myself in Girona, Spain and also in Italy to prepare for the events.  During this time, I will also be studding for my VCE exams which start basically when I get home.  It’s going to be a really hectic period, but with the help of the teaching staff at Maribyrnong and my own will to succeed, I am really looking forward to the challenge.”

Maribyrnong Sports Academy Physical Preparation coach Todd Carlon says Lucas’ work ethic in the gym is obviously a major reason for his success “I reckon a good quote that describes Plappy is persistence beats resistance.  He’s just a work horse and never complains if he’s stiff or sore he just keeps trying to get the best out of himself. I’m so glad for him that he is the National Champion because it once again proves that if you do the hard work the rewards come.”

Todd says Lucas’ program is different to the majority of students at the school.  “He has a major advantage over others in the gym because he is so strong mentally and so resilient.  I love the story he tells of his father making him ride home from Euchua to Melbourne for a bit of extra training.  So that really shows you how much work he does and I can bet you he wouldn’t have complained once, he would have just jumped on his bike and went at it.  His work rate is his greatest asset and that has helped him with his aerobic capacity for cycling for sure.” 

Lucas Plapp is one of 585 students who are proud to call Maribyrnong Sports Academy their school.  Our JETS (Junior Emerging Talent Squad) partake in technical training in 15 different sports as well as ADP (Athlete Development Program) classes during their normal school day.