The Academy Southland Programme aims to develop people, athletes and officials to achieve and inspire on the national and international stage. Following inclusions in the programme, participants will know who they are and what motivates them, where they come from and how to perform at the highest level.
The Academy Southland Programme (Academy Southland) provides performance services and support to assist Southland’s aspiring and talented athletes. It is governed by Talent Development Southland and supported by Southland’s Regional Sporting Organisations (RSO’s), Sport Southland, ILT Foundation and The Community Trust of Southland. Academy Southland provides a sport support network for top athletes and their coaches with this programme being tailored to meet the needs of young Southland based athletes.
Each year, a maximum of twelve (12) Southland athletes will be given the opportunity to be included in the Academy Southland Programme for a two year period. The foundation year of the programme offers athletes an induction into high performance sport. Those athletes who excel in the foundation year may be selected for inclusion in a leadership year programme building on principles from the foundation year.
There are two main components to the service and support offered to athletes involved in the Academy Southland programme:
1. Group and individual services
2. Performance related workshops
The majority of servicing offered in year one is centred on group services/workshops. These workshops focus on developing the athlete and coaches support service knowledge and increasing their understanding of the key principles of elite training and performance. Athletes and coaches will have the opportunity to gain greater insight into a wide range of services, ensuring the foundations of an elite performance pathway are in place.
Workshops have in the past included the following topics:
Athlete Life Athlete Life helps athletes plan and develop their careers as athletes and with other life goals by focussing on time and energy management, career and education support, decision making communication and professionalism.
Sport Nutrition Identifies dietary factors that may affect/enhance performance and provides solutions for training and competition including athlete and sports specific calculations of carbohydrate and protein requirements, pre-competition, competition and recovery nutrition strategies, fluid intake, weight loss/gain goals, food label reading, travel strategies and appropriate supermarket shopping, cooking/eating out guidelines and cooking classes.
Performance Psychology Mental Skills Training assists in managing competitive stress; improve confidence, goal setting, visualisation and focusing during an event, control concentration, recovering from a bad performance and managing personal issues.
Strength and Conditioning Physical conditioning assesses and improves the athlete’s level of physical fitness, including aerobic and anaerobic fitness, strength, flexibility, speed, and agility. A strength and conditioning trainer develops the athlete’s training programme and ensures that correct training techniques are implemented. They also assist the coach in periodising the training programme to ensure the athlete is optimally prepared for major competitions.
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