The Charter to Success

Mr Robert Egan

Prep Sportsmaster

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on 2020 and what has been an exciting year of sport.

Sport here at TSS has witnessed an abundance of boys with what could be called natural athleticism, which they apply across a range of activities. Over the past few years we have had numerous individuals and teams show tremendous talent, drive and work ethic across the board.

It is wonderful to see the combination of nature and nurture at work, with our boys proving that hard work and talent are a powerful combination.

Speaking to a number of our young athletes over the past few seasons it was clear to see that their interest and passion in all sports areas have a unique link. That link is the fostering of positive experiences from an early age, in healthy competitive events like our Inter House Sport, clubs and co-curricular programs. These positive experiences in an inclusive, competitive environment, stoke the fire and become the catalyst for success in their sporting journey.

Each year it is a pleasure of mine to receive requests from boys wanting to trial for School District, Regional or National teams, as well as reports of boys attending club trials outside of school. This is one of many avenues our sportsmen pursue to challenge and improve in their chosen field. Although the 2020 sporting calendar was heavily disrupted, numerous representing honours have continued to emerge from Prep. A representative selection is a feather in any boys cap, but for me as a Sportsmaster the most important part of the trial process is taking that bold step to attend.

Displaying talent (nature) in their own right, the names attending this year’s rep trials are no surprise to me. Each of the boys have demonstrated a high level of focus, some level of sacrifice, but a tonne of hard work is required to nurture their performance on to the next level. These are boy’s taking time out of their week for individual practice, attending extra sessions, playing another sport during their off season, attending online fitness session, submitting skill video practice during online learning and more.

Our Prep sportsmen are prime examples of love, labour and longevity in their craft being a precursor to success. They have shown how taking responsibility for their own learning, positive thoughts and practice, takes care of business.

You may have heard the saying that “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Whilst true, today’s take home messages are, be persistent in pursuit of your passion and we go looking for hard work to make the most of our talent here at TSS Prep.

Congratulations to all of our boys on a wonderful year, a special mention to those who attended a representative trial, we look forward to seeing you journey continue in 2021.

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Create a clear picture - set a goal (who do you want to be); surround yourself with good people (your passionate teammates); know your strengths and areas to improve (what do you need to develop); service (how can you help others achieve as well).

Thinking good/positive thoughts - in order to get the most out of yourself and others it's been proven that thinking on the brighter side of life helps raise both your game and others around you quicker

Be productive - narrow your focus and avoid distractions. Create focussed goals, which can be big and may need to be broken down into milestones over time. Set deadlines for your goals... that you stick to.

Be a risk taker - get out of your comfort zone. Be bold, be courageous, learn from your mistakes and adapt. Be a pioneer and embrace challenge.