Sports program aims to support talent

The success of the Great Southern Storm Football program will be used as a model to benefit talented athletes across three other major sporting codes in Albany from this week.

The Great Southern Storm Talent Development Program will run in a pilot eight-week program that will give budding sports stars the chance to train in their home environment at a level comparable to the metropolitan area.

The first session was held on Monday and the program will run until the end of March.

It will include life skills sessions, high-level coaching and physical development to maximise athletes’ opportunities to progress in their sport.

Athletes will receive strength, conditioning, running technique and exercise physiology training.

The program has been developed between the Department of Sport and Recreation and the Storm, and will be funded by Royalties for Regions.

The four sports selected for the initial eight-week pilot program are hockey, netball, cricket and football.

Regional Talent Development project leader Mitch Hardy said he was excited about the program.

“The Great Southern Storm is part of the Regional Talent Development Network,” he said.

“This is a pilot project to see how it will function with sports working together. This is just a small step initially.”

The project will be managed by the Storm’s operations manager Darrell Panizza, who said the initiative was fantastic for junior athletes in the region.

“It is something we have been crying out for, for years,” he said.

“It will bring all the young sportspeople in Albany together for coaching, diet and their transition from Albany to Perth.”

Panizza said the Storm’s program success was highlighted by football players like Marley Williams, Jeremy McGovern, Josh Bootsma and Angus Litherland progressing to AFL ranks.

“It is a great program that other sports could follow and we have developed into a program we have now,” he said.

“We will share our program and our ideas with other sports.”