Academy Southland and Pathway to Podium programme – what is it, how does it work, is there a connection to schools. An introduction on current thinking about talent development, where it sits in the SportNZ/HPSNZ system. Some observations about the needs of talented young people, particularly competition/training workload, support required to develop/maximise performance potential. What currently happens in sport academies, what they think should/could be happening with a view to supporting talent development

Why? Achieving Southlanders, Inspiring Southlanders on a national and international stage. How? Developing people; athletes, coaches and officials What? Athletes / coaches / officials who know: Who they are and what motivates them Where they come from How to perform at the highest level

Pathway to Podium Programme The Guiding Principles

Programme Objective To provide the New Zealand high performance system with an increased number of athletes who understand and are better prepared for the demands of a high performance environment and who have the potential to win on the world stage.

Programme Positioning

Targeting Athletes 1-3 years from carding not an end to end Talent Development programme/strategy. Not a High Performance programme – preparation for High Performance (currently many athletes arriving unprepared for HP environment) Targeting initially the sports supported by HPSNZ (strategic alignment)

Athlete Support – The Approach Athlete centred/focused approach – individual athlete needs supported – IPP’s NOT a service driven approach – instead an individualised holistic athlete support approach Coaching quality the most critical and influential support mechanism Training/education in a multi-sport environment beneficial for athletes and coaches

The Region/NSO Partnership Both partners critical in this programme NSOs – select athletes, sport specific support to athletes and coaches (funded for the coaching support) and IPP development where possible (sign- off all IPPs) Regions – generic support of athletes (and coaches where possible) – emphasis on education and IPP support services (develop IPP’s where required and get them signed off) Communication/alignment between partners critical.

What role could schools/academies play in talent development? What currently happens in schools? (10 min) 1. What is there purpose? 2. What content do they cover? 3. How are they perceived?

What is the average number of sports played in primary, intermediate and secondary school? P2P survey of 163 athletes

Sport Sampling Primary School Average: 3.2 sports played Intermediate School 3.3 sports played Secondary School 2.9 sports played

At what age did they begin competing in their P2P selected sport? rowing, sailing, swimming surfing, football

Sport Selection 9 years old 9.9 years old 12 years old10.3 years old 14.9 years old

What factors affected their selection of their chosen P2P sport?

Sport Selection Factors 1.General Love of Sport – 87% 2.Parental Influence – 57% 3.Easy Access to a club/facility – 40% Percentage of respondents who rated factor as “very important”.

At what age have P2P athletes specialised (focused on one sport to progress in)?

Specialisation – At what age? 96% of P2P athletes have ‘specialised’ 59% of athletes specialise between

What triggers specialisation?

What triggers Specialisation? Success59.0% Time Commitments10.5% Love of sport specialising in7.6% Coach7.6% Parents1.0% Other13.3%

Challenges 1. Managing multiple commitments 25% ranked as Most Significant 2. Lack of financial support 14% ranked as Most Significant 3. Mental obstacles 4. Injury 5. Uncertainty whether my future involves elite sport

What do kids say?

Athletes Athletes can be classified into the following: Average Talent High Motivation High Talent High Motivation  Limited Talent Low Motivation  High Talent Low Motivation 

What role could schools/academies play in talent development? What could be happening that would support the athletes and support the talent development system?