Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

57 My Sporting Journey Since the age of three, when I first joined the School, I have participated in a wide variety of sports, including football, basketball, water polo, swimming, athletics and cross country. I can honestly say I have enjoyed every single moment of the sporting time at Brentwood School, maybe not cross country as much. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by coaching staff and facilities which have enabled me to develop my technical and physical ability enhancing my performance in general for my main sport which is football which I believe has gone well for me over the years playing in the First XI and being in the A team every year from First to Fourth Year. Over the years I can honestly say sport at Brentwood has provided me with memories that I will never forget, for example Harry Gough booting the ball as high as he could after a shooting session and hitting Mr Robson straight on top of the head while he was in centre circle; out of all the places the ball could have landed it ended up there, or the time on the Miami football tour when Jack Brown, Charlie Courtney, Sam Blundell, Jack St Pierre and I were caught trying to go and play volleyball on the beach whilst everyone was eating in the hotel. There have also been some memorable moments of success like in the Fourth Year when we (U15A) won the Elgin league and the Elgin league cup in a thrilling game in which we were 1-0 down to come back 2-1; this was one of the best sporting moments I have ever participated in, or in the ISFA last 16 when we were 2-0 against Eton and I scored a last- minute equaliser to make it 2-2. We then scored another last-minute winner to make it 3-2 in extra time sending us into the quarter- finals. One of the more ugly moments would have to be when there was an athletics meet and a 200m race was about to begin. Mr Killilea put the gun up and was about to fire when somebody shouted, “Oh my god he’s got a gun!” with everyone on the track looking at him like an absolute idiot. Overall it has been a great time at Brentwood School and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to experience the whole journey. By George Pugh George Pugh Maximilien Tomlinson Often when doing the IB, students will select Standard Level subjects that are not focused around what they want to do in the future. However, this does mean that they cannot be useful. If you select your subjects well you should have an interest in all of them. One of my Standard Subjects was Sports, Health and Exercise Science and despite not being similar to what I plan to do in the future I have been able to use it to support my own hobbies. I do not take part in any of the classic sports like football or rugby, instead I do a sport called obstacle course racing (OCR). The IB course has supported me greatly in my desire to do well in OCR. Firstly, learning about fitness tests is very useful in training because it allows me to track my progress and highlight my weaknesses that need improvement. Secondly, understanding how the different energy systems are operated and trained is crucial in training and racing because it underlines the need for using various training methods so as to be fit in all aspects, instead of being good at only one specific type of fitness. The most important way in which the IB Sports Science course supported me in training is through learning about periodization. Periodization is essentially the process of organizing your training in a smart way. This way you maximise fitness gains and reduce risks of getting injured by planning to train at an amount that is not overstressing the body. All this knowledge taught in class allowed me to train in the most beneficial way so I could be at my own personal best when racing. As a result of this, I made 3rd place in the World Championships of OCR and will keep on using what I’ve been taught to hopefully get higher on the podium in the next World Championships. By Maximilien Tomlinson