Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
Last night I had the privilege of watching our Senior A basketball team win the Year 8 boys
Competition. It was to my mind anyway an emphatic victory based on a team that utilized the
individual strengths of its members and welded these together to form an unbeatable team unit.
I was very impressed with the coaching of John Peita who got the very best out of every player
and ensured that because he valued everybody's contribution, everyone contributed. Well done
Team. This was another first for our school who alongside winning the South Taieri School
Cross Country Cup for the first time, winning the St Joseph’s v St Mary’s interschool for the first
time have now won the Otago Year 8 boys basketball competition.
To some degree when a relatively small group of people beat far large groups of people in a
sporting contest it reminds me of a saying of my father’s—”it’s not the size of the dog in the fight,
it’s the fight in the dog.” But I am especially pleased when teams like ours have success be-cause it rewards all that we stand for but especially loyalty. Do some players like Chistiano
Ronaldo who travel from one top team to another seeking to be a member of a winning unit ever
get as much from team success as a local player like say Paul Grant who has stuck with the one
province through good and bad, thick and then. I think not.
Loyalty is a two edged sword but one that once one side is damaged can only be returned to its
former lustre by sharpening the damaged side not by blunting the sharp side for if this
happens the effectiveness of the relationship ends.
Once again to John and his team of Stars—WELL Done!
Have a great week.
Mike Brosnahan, Principal
Room 3