30.10.2007

Sharing the experience!

Following on from a very successful World Youth Championships, the second of the National Under 19 Talent Squad and Mentor camps took place during the first weekend in October.

This time all athletes and mentors were accommodated at the AIS and it proved to be a very rewarding experience, not only for the athletes but most importantly for all mentors who were able to attend.    

Once again we were guided by facilitator Kate Seignior and the sessions would not have been the same without a visit from ‘bob the ball’ and ‘chuck the chook’. We kicked off the weekend with a trivia night which can only be described as having a ‘distance’ theme as the questions were mainly the brainchild of none other than our own Trevor Vincent.  Thank goodness we had the athletes there as some of the music questions were beyond most of us ‘mature’ mentors!

The sessions at this camp were centred around not only athletic performance and goals, but also the role of education, life skills and the difficulties that can be experienced in the transition from junior to senior athlete. The sessions were most enlightening for all concerned and the interaction between mentors and athletes was a highlight. In addition to the indoor sessions, mentors had the opportunity to watch their athlete in a training session and, with the track season fast approaching, mentors will now have the opportunity to see the athletes in competition.

One of our former greats in Phil May was able to attend this camp and wrote the following in an email sent after the camp

“Thank you so much for allowing me to engage once more after many years – I really enjoyed the whole thing. Young people realising ambition, facilities available for this process, and most importantly the commitment of the young people to achieve their ambitions…from my own selfish perspective I had so much fun! Seeing my old mates as years have gone by, meeting new mates of similar persuasion and passion and performance was most enlightening.”

This program has allowed many of our former greats to become part of the journey of a new generation of athletes and in Phil’s case he is mentoring two WA athletes in sprinter Jared  Bezuidenhout and pole vaulter Matei Tzvetanov.

Sara Mulkearns, Athletics Australia’s National Youth Performance Manager, also talked about the commitment needed for the next 10 months or so in the lead up to the World Junior Championships in July next year  - the goal of all the athletes in this Under 19 program. In the final session of the weekend mentors were treated to a most enlightening video clip which the athletes had seen earlier in the camp, and it was most inspiring.

From the AI Mentor Program perspective, this camp gave us all the chance to come together and evaluate the mentor program so far. In what proved to be a very interesting dinner on the Saturday night, mainly due to a most inspiring talk by Peter Bourke and some uplifting comments from Julian Paynter, the feedback from the athletes overall was most positive.

AI, through the trust funding, has helped contribute towards giving these young talented athletes the best possible chance to achieve their goals and in the process allowed many of our past champions the chance to impart their knowledge and experience to our future stars.

We hope to involve many more AI members in this mentor program and look forward to following the careers of the best young talent in the country.

By Maxine Corcoran