Drop ten, turn and face. Quiltys’ Football Yarns 20 SPX the first year 1997

Drop ten, turn and face. 

Quiltys’ Football Yarns 20

SPX the first year 1997

Joining St Pius X College in January 1997 was one of the better decisions I have made. Not just because it gave me 600 hours saved from travel but also because it was a challenge to change and shape a culture. That is not something I realised walking through the front door but more a reality that was revealed to me over time. John Paul II was a senior High School with over a thousand Year 11 and 12 students. While it is true to say that it had a winning culture in Sport Performing Arts and Academia, it also had a very mature approach to the way it approached the education of its students. This was an intangible that I didn’t fully appreciate until I left.

For me both schools represented a challenge. In some ways the challenge was similar in that the prevailing sporting culture was not a football based one. At JPII Michael Carr and Bill Dowers had built a Rugby League monolith competing on a state and national level. I soon appreciated that there was also a deep vein of Football talent largely untapped. I was told this by Michael Carr himself at interview. My response at the school was to set standards and provide a pathway toward success through bringing together those players, both male and female, as formidable units that won competitions.

At SPX the task was different in nature. At this college there was a historical Rugby Union culture. Apparently in the seventies and eighties the school was very competitive on the Rugby Union field. For a variety of reasons this was no longer the case by the late nineties. Reasons would include a lack of size in both school numbers and with the students themselves. The demographic nature of the school had also changed significantly over a decade. Being a Catholic school it always had its share of Anglo-Irish families. By the late nineties it also had sizeable groups of ethnic Italians, Croatians, Armenians and Lebanese. It also had a growing number of students of Chinese and Korean extraction reflecting the changing demographics of Chatswood itself. St Pius X was in some ways in denial. The Rugby 'Old Boys' were very supportive, the main Grandstand at Oxford Falls faced the magnificent Rugby Field and the halls of the Treacy Centre were adorned with photos of past Rugby Union glory, Football being a distant second in all respects. This in 1997 was strange in itself because the demographics of the school suggested it might be otherwise. Coming to SPX, I took up a role teaching Business Studies, Economics and Commerce. Never shy, I also assumed the role as 1st XI Football Coach and Football Convenor. Very quickly I became part of a volatile triangle which included Peter Bromley who was the Sports Master and Br Paul Leary the Principal. What these two guys seemed to have in common was a dislike of Football. It just took me a while to realise what this dislike was based upon. Coming from the Football hothouse of JPII I found the non-football culture at SPX to be a disappointment. Not just because the Western Suburbs kids seemed more tough and resilient but also because I was unaware of the school sporting dynamic. 

Apparently at that time the college already had many youngsters playing Rep Football outside. Upon questioning they told me that they weren’t encouraged to also play school football. It was put up as a ‘one or the other’ choice. The impact of this was to rob the school sides of the best, most talented players because their parents chose, more often than not to play outside where they would get good skills coaching and at least 20 games a season. At School there were only six or seven matches. The other underlying factor was the tradition of ‘channelling’ the best athletes into Rugby Union from Year Seven. Faced with these realities I approached my roles in a way to maximise change at the college for my chosen speciality sport, Football.

In those first few months several meetings took place around sport. However, probably the most significant event I attended was the school swimming gala down at Longeville. It pissed down all day long. There I was up the back of the grandstand with Carla Leonardi and twenty or so of the school’s ‘lively’ students. Multiple conversations revealed that while these guys in Year 11 and 12 played good football, they wouldn’t play for the school. Somehow in between getting drowned wet many times and skirting with catching pneumonia, I think I convinced them that things were about to change. Two incidents illustrate the nature of my task changing the culture. No, they were nothing to do with Football parents not liking their sons training in the rain but all about picking players to play for my new SPX 1st XI in 1997. After a few training sessions down at Beauchamp Oval I identified midfielder Armen Makaradi as my first captain, only to be told by him the Rugby Coach wanted him to play in the 3rd XV Rugby side instead. Armen was devastated when he came to tell me. Needless to say I sorted this out quickly. Just a week afterwards I posted my first Football squad on the notice board, only to be informed that because a few had not played for SPX the year before, they could only play 2nd XI in 1997. Again this was quickly resolved. I marched into Paul Leary’s office with the rugby coach close behind to pose a few questions. Paul, who was bit taken aback listened intently.

 “Br Paul, who is the 1st XI Coach at SPX?” I asked.

“You are, Steve” He responded. 

“Br Paul, who picks the 1st XI Squad?”

“You do Steve” He answered.

“OK Brother, please tell the Rugby staff that as soon as possible because If I cant pick who I want you can find another 1st XI Coach”

For about thirty seconds all was quiet. Then Br Paul pointed to me and said, 

“Steve picks who he wants”

Of course this was not a conversation that I would have planned as a new staff member but it was probably the first step in making SPX a Football school.

Armen turned out to be a great captain. Other players included Michael Marchione, Alan Sardelich, Rob Khatchadourian in goal, the brilliant striker Anthony Fiorenza, his brother Daniel and stylish midfielder, the late Fabian Mastrangelo. We had a very competitive side making the ISA Grand Final which was played out at a windy Christie Park under lights against St Patrick’s Strathfield. This was the beginning of a great football rivalry between the schools. Their coach Dave Timillero my counterpart and sometimes nemesis over many seasons. The season was made up of 19 matches. Interestingly, we entered and progressed to the later rounds of both the NSWCIS Schools Cup and the NSWCCC Cup. Going down St Pat’s in the former and a brilliant Oakhill side in the latter. Later we discovered we weren't supposed to play in both! This introduction of competition against teams from outside our own ISA competition was an immense benefit. The ISA Final was the inaugural one played of a night with 300 supporters in attendance. The game itself remained 0-0 until the last minute of extra time when St Pat’s scored the winner. Even in defeat it was clear we had taken a key step in establishing our game as a major one at the college. Many of our supporters on the night were Rugby players. That sport didn’t have a finals series, so this was an opportunity to show school spirit the game ending 10 O’clock at night!

Probably just as important was the recognition our players got at ISA level, six getting capped. Anthony Fiorenza who scored 22 goals up front on his own made the NSWCIS side which was a great achievement. Tasting that exciting night of near glory we were set up to return the following year to go one better. And so it was.

Season: Played 19 Won 11 Drawn 2 Lost 6.