Big weekend for MSA Alumni

Congratulations to former Maribyrnong Sports Academy Athletes Jess Fitzgerald and  Elle McKenzie who made their debut’s in the AFLW over the weekend.  Elle was selected by Richmond with the Number 1 draft back in 2020 and ran onto the Punt Rd Oval as a Richmond player for the first time on Sunday against Brisbane.  Elle had 12 disposals on debut and played alongside fellow Marby Alumni Monique Conti for the Tigers who had a loss to the Lions

 Jess Fitzgerald played for the Bulldogs in their first round loss to the Saints who had Fellow Marby Alumni Georgia Patrikios in their side.  Jess had 10 Disposals, 3 tackles and kicked a point.

Libby Birch played in defence for Melbourne in their 21 point win over the Gold Coast Suns while Aliesha Newman played for Collingwood in the season opener win against Carlton.

Another MSA Alumni Stephanie Banque, a former Golf Student/Athlete at MSA, finished par for the course and 17 shots off the winner in The Players Series tournament played at the Rosebud Country Club. 

Paul Tsapatolis signs with the Geelong Cats

Maribyrnong Sports Academy Basketball student Paul Tsapatolis has signed a Category B contract with AFL club Geelong.

Having last played football for Yarraville Seddon Eagles as a 13 year old in 2015, Paul then concentrated on his basketball skills and captained Vic Metro's underage basketball sides in recent years as well as representing Australia at FIBA Oceania (2019) and Asia (2018) tournaments.

Geelong won the services of the 202cm ruck after interest was also shown by Sydney, North Melbourne and Essendon.  Paul has been working with the Cats in the past year in a series of training sessions in the past 12 months after rediscovering his love for football training with the MSA AFL Program.

MSA AFL High Performance Coach Robbie Chancellor says this is an amazing opportunity for the 18yo Year 12 Student.  “It’s obvious from his achievements that Paul is a talented athlete in another sport (Basketball), but has been able to get himself into a professional football environment.  He is without doubt a great athlete and has given himself a chance of having a crack at Footy.  With a Category B player, the club can take a punt on someone who hasn’t played football for a while and someone who has the attributes to play the game without really knowing if they can at the elite level.  Paul has got himself in the door at Geelong and it is up to him to make sure he makes the most of it now.”

MSA Sports Director Mark McAllion says part of the attraction of a school like MSA is that athlete’s get the chance to see if their skills are transferable to another sport.  “We have had numerous student athlete’s make the transition from one sport to another and Paul is another athlete who has been able to do so.  Monique Conti was in our Basketball Program and made the World Starting 5 at the FIBA U17 Championships before going on to become an AFLW player with the Bulldogs and now Richmond.  Guy Walker was in the high performance pathway for Cricket before being picked up by Melbourne in the AFL while Wilson Berry played VFL football for Essendon and is now a Gridiron College Punter in the States, just to name a few.  Our focus here at MSA is to work with the Athlete and give them the tools to perform at the elite level in their chosen sport.”

It's College Season. And MSA plays a big part

Another seven Maribyrnong Sports Academy students will make their way over to the United States of America in 2021 after signing their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) letter of intent for their respective colleges.

It’s been another big year for our Academy students when it comes to heading to the USA to further their sporting career and education.  “ While we have 7 students who have signed already, we know there are more that our waiting to do so, and we hope that this year we will pass our previous record of 8 students signed to US Colleges in a year” said Mark McAllion, Sporting Director of MSA.

Maribyrnong Sports Academy has helped place 70 students into US Colleges since our first student athlete left our shores in 2008.

US College Academic Guidance Counsellor at MSA Maureen Spencer-Gardner says the excitement around these announcements is amazing.  “We are so proud and excited about these outstanding US college scholarship achievements by our current Year 12s.  Most of these student-athletes have been meeting with me since Year 9 to plan their academic courses through to Year 12, and to prepare for all the steps in US college pathway.  They have all been extremely self-motivated, focussing on working hard both in their classes and in their sports, with their eyes on the goal of earning these sports scholarships to study for a university degree while competing in high-level US College sports.  

And while the students are very much looking forward to their life in a new country, Maureen stresses there are still concerns about the current state of affairs with the Pandemic. “The COVID pandemic in 2020 has added to their challenges, and they have all come through!   As Maribyrnong Sports Academy student-athletes they are all uniquely prepared for life as a student-athlete in USA!  They are all very thankful, as I am, for their teachers and their Sports Academy coaches and high-performance physical preparation staff.  I feel honoured to share in each of their journeys!  

Year 12 students who have signed with US Colleges for 2021 are:

Aimee JUNGFER received her Admissions letter from Princeton University on October 16th.  Aimee will compete in Princeton Tigers Field Hockey team from 2021-25 while studying towards a prestigious degree at Princeton University, a high-academic Ivy League school

Holly FURPHY signed last week at Santa Clara University Women's Soccer Program

Layla LOPEZ signed with Utah Valley University Women's Soccer.  Utah Valley play in the same conference (league) as Santa Clara, so Layla will be playing against Holly from 2021 to 2025!

Casey PAEA has signed with SUNY (State University of New York in Buffalo) Women's Basketball program.  Casey has been asked to attend the college for a start in January 2021.

Tess BARNES signed with University of Wyoming Women's Basketball Program

Keenan SPENCE signed with Texas Tech University Div 1 Baseball program

Harun PELJA has signed with Ventura College Baseball  program

Mark McAllion says he is cannot speak highly enough about the process in place at MSA which allows student athletes to consider this pathway “We are extremely proud to have had the ability to guide these students into considering taking on the challenge of higher education in another country.  We also pay tribute to Maureen Spencer-Gardner who has played a major part in getting these student athletes and all before them, ready for the next stage of their lives as early as year 9.  Maureen will be retiring from the Education Department at the end of this year, after 50 years’ service, and we thank her so much for all she has done.“