Athletics

You could see the desire to win was so great on the girl’s faces as well as the people on the bench. They knew they were tired but the comeback that they had was so immense that winning this set was in reach. The serve went over and the ball got battered around between the two sides. Then the ball was smashed just out of bounds by one of the Saint Joseph’s girls. This meant that the Spartans won the set 32-30. The amount of sheer joy and excitement on the players and the coaches faces was priceless. This seemingly impossible win from a 10-point deficit propelled our girls to win the next set and by default, the game.

The Junior B Girls volleyball team had a very successful season. With league starting late this year, they competed in two tournaments prior to starting regular season. They learned a lot about their own individual skills and game play, but even more so about how they connect as a team, finishing the regular season undefeated! Coach Baird and I were so impressed with the girls play, effort, teamwork, and grit all season. 

Our Grade 9 volleyball season was a straight hill climb with coach Rathwell leading the way. We all stayed together and worked as a team to bring the banner to STS. We competed in two out of town tournaments. Our first one was in Strathmore and it was early in the season so we were able to practice our new court rotation. We then competed in Three Hills and overtook Hanna in the final to win the tournament with some outstanding serving. Our team went undefeated in the regular league season.

The 2021 Spartan cross country season has come to an end, and what an exceptional season it was! Both the Middle and Senior School teams demonstrated determination, commitment, enthusiasm, and leadership throughout the season. This season provided opportunities for the Middle School students to train with the Senior School students, allowing them to improve and put themselves against tougher competition.  

Thank you to the STS student and staff community for your participation in our class runs during the week of September 20 – 24, 2021.  It was an amazing demonstration of caring, encouragement and fun! The STS Terry Fox Run is a part of one of Canada’s biggest displays of solidarity against cancer while setting an example of compassion, fostering school spirit, and encouraging physical activity! Our participation over the past 37 years exemplifies our dedication to supporting Terry Fox. 

The annual Zone golf tournament took place in Turner Valley with the STS girls team placing first and bringing home the banner.

It's 7:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and the sounds of sneakers on the floor and athletes calling for the ball drift out from the Sandy Heard Sports Centre. It's not just any normal Tuesday, it's the first day of school in September and the gym is filled with about 30 students working hard and having fun together for volleyball team tryouts, before classes have even started. 

Please join us in congratulating the Senior School Cross Country running team for their strong results as the Cross Country season came to an end this week.  

The annual provincial golf tournament took place in Red Deer and Innisfail on Monday and Tuesday of last week.

STS hosted over 250 young basketball players and their coaches from independent schools across Canada. STS is the ONLY Canadian Accredited Independent School(CAIS) to host and billet these many athletes! It is a true testament to the strength of our community when we have well over 60 families open their homes to host these 11 and 12-year-old boys visiting our school. Almost one-third of our entire school faculty and staff were directly involved in this fabulous event.

We received some exciting news just before the holiday season from the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) that our Senior Varisty (SV) Boys Volleyball Team were awarded the Sportsmanship Banner for their performance at the 2A Provincial tournament!

The wide variety of co-curricular clubs and activities offered at STS allows students to discover their passions. This can definitely be said for athletics. Many students who choose athletics may do so to explore their abilities, compete and challenge themselves, but joining a sports team also fosters growth and development in character and leadership. 

This past weekend the Senior Boys and Girls volleyball teams travelled to Camrose, AB to compete in the 2A Provincials tournament.  The teams left on Wednesday afternoon and managed to get to the venue in time to have some practice time in the gym and then settle into their hotel rooms. Following the opening ceremonies the next morning, the boys got to work on their pool play. The Thursday games against Our Lady of Mount Pleasant (25-20, 25-22) and Immanuel Christian (25-20, 19-25, 15-6) were hard fought and we came out victorious. The day was followed by a beautiful banquet for all the players provided by the tournament organizers.

The Senior Varsity Girls Volleyball team successfully extended their season by winning the South Central Zone banner and advancing to Provincials, held for both the boys and girls teams in Camrose, Alberta.

Daring greatly and playing as a team, the Junior A Boys gave it their all this weekend as they played some excellent volleyball at Holy Cross Collegiate in Strathmore, representing the South Central Zone.

On a wintery October 10, STS hosted the South Central Zone Cross-Country meet, welcoming over 900 runners to our campus. It was a competitive day of running and the Spartans came out with their usual tenacity and grit to take on the challenging conditions. Notable top ten finishes came from Konrad K. ’19 placing 4th in the Senior Boys race, Kiyan S. ’21 and Ethan H. ’21 placing 5th and 6th respectively in the Junior Boys race, and Cooper P. ’20 and Bishneet S. ’20 placing 6th and 8th respectively in the Intermediate Boys race.

On Saturday, June 9, the SV Rugby team was defeated 25 – 14 by Banff Community HS at the Calgary Rugby Union and finished with a silver medal at the ASAA Tier III Rugby Championship.

On Saturday, November 4 the Junior B Boys volleyball team captured 1^st place at Rally Pointe.