Elite and Emerging Athlete Progam

ELITE AND EMERGING ATHLETE PROGRAM

STRIVING TO PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS WITH ATHLETIC POTENTIAL TO THRIVE.

The Elite and Emerging Athlete Program (EEAP) aims to develop greater awareness of elite pathways, assist in developing and achieving performance goals, nurture future career aspiration, and foster general health and wellbeing benefits.

The EEAP was initiated by ELTHAM staff Lesley Moulin and Nicole Howard. They started with an idea to develop a basketball academy for ELTHAM College students due to Nicole’s coaching background in the WNBL and Lesley’s high-level playing and coaching background. Training aspiring basketballers by developing their ball skills and shooting, led them to realise that the program could be expanded to include athletes in an array of sports, with a focus on nurturing the development of a growing body with correct strength and conditioning techniques.

In 2019, 18 successful applicants from Years 6 – 8 became the initial participants of the EEAP, with representatives in basketball, swimming, cycling, AFL, kayaking, tennis and soccer.

This year the program expanded to 24 students, with students involved in sports as diverse as hockey, volleyball, triathlon, calisthenics, running and tumbling, in addition to those from the initial intake.

The program is strongly complemented by Core Advantage, a high performance company who work with elite youth and professional athletes throughout Melbourne. Core Advantage staff provide initial fitness testing and screening to create an athletic profile. They use this information for the development and implementation of individual programs for EEAP participants.

Throughout the process Core Advantage are able to detect muscle and biomechanical deficiencies, correcting poor technique and laying the groundwork for improved strength and power outcomes, as well as injury prevention into the future. Students undertake training sessions twice a week with additional coaching sessions in selected sports offered at various times of the year. Here is some feedback from EEAP participants:

“I improved my skills and became a lot stronger and less prone to injuries, which helped me to have my best season in my sports.” Josh Northey

“Having a professional program written by Core Advantage that caters for my current needs and ability is an amazing thing. It has been really beneficial in helping me perform the best I can in the pool.” Stephanie O’Donnell

“It was great to meet and be surrounded by other like-minded students from various year levels who also wanted to better themselves in their sport. This gave me a boost with my mindset and we were able to motivate each other when training in the gym together.” Lawson Franzmann

“I have found the EEAP program very beneficial, as not only do I feel improvements but I see improvements within my results. It also helped as a rehab plan, as towards the end of last year I was overcoming an injury, so it helped speed up my recovery.” Emma Rao

Applications for the program open in late February each year. For further details of the program, please contact me on cseckold@elthamcollege.vic.edu.au

Craig Seckold Director of Sport