It’s that vital time for a young athlete, making the transition from being very good, to potentially competing nationally and internationally at the highest level.
For Izobelle Louison-Roe, one of Australia’s top young athletes, the way to navigate this sometimes complicated time was by signing up for the Australian Athletics Pathway Transition Program (PTP).
Nominations for the latest one year intake of the PTP for 2026 close on Friday, May 15.
“The main thing for me was PTP changed me into having a high performance mindset,” Louison-Roe said.
“It’s the difference between just training every day and then having access to things like a nutritionist, video, psychology, and biomechanics.
“It was so valuable for me.”
Louison-Roe,18, who is coached by her mother Karen Roe, recently won both the high jump and triple jump at the Australian Athletics Junior (Under Age) Championships.
She credits part of that success to the support she and her mother have gotten from everything that the PTP program brings.
It has also helped her prepare for the bigger competitions, which is vital as Louison-Roe starts looking to compete more overseas.
“A lot of people tend to forget when you go to big competitions, you have got a lot of stress to deal with,” she said.
“Then you have to think about whether you’re eating right and recovering right.
“PTP helps to bring all that together.
“You have access to all these resources and they help you out.
“Even the sports psychologist helped me focus on competition nerves, having that expectation on yourself, and how to regulate that.
“I would encourage any young athlete to sign up.”
The program is also very beneficial for coaches of young athletes, as both the athlete and coach navigate what’s next.
Australian Athletics Pathways Transition Manager Adam Didyk is encouraging young athletes, their parents, coaches, and community club members to look at the benefits of the PTP program.
“The Pathway Transition Program is designed to support athletes and their coaches at a critical stage of their development,” he said.
“We want to expose athletes to a wide range of high-performance support so they can start building the habits and behaviours that underpin long-term success.”
Some benefits of the PTP for athletes and coaches include access to:
For more information on nominations or the PTP itself, including a recording of a recent information session, you can go to HERE.
By Luke Dennehy, Australian Athletics
Posted 8/5/2026
