Marcus Agnew leading physical literacy

Marcus Agnew leads Talent Development and the Pathway to Podium for AUT Millennium Hawke's Bay and believes physical literacy is crucial for pathway development.

"It sets up the young to be active for life. If they come through at a young age it is important for those who want to kick on and be competitive, but also for people who want to be active and perform."

Mr Agnew said physical literacy focused on physical movement competencies and associated healthy eating habits.

"Physical literacy has more than just a physical focus, it's the work habits, the self-esteem from achieving physical tasks, the confidence to forever continue engaging in activities, and the fun!"

"Therefore the critical link is obvious, between developing physical literacy, and establishing healthier lifestyle habits to combat the increasingly prevalent rates of obesity and physical inactivity."

Mr Agnew said they had already started delivering physical literacy programmes to schools around Hawke's Bay, as it was then and there where the "world accepted, ideal model" started.

"The model for progressive lifestyle athlete development starts at school so they learn at the right time and at the right stages of development. The programmes then become ingrained in the kids for life."

Havelock North High School, Lindisfarne, Taradale High School, Wairoa College and Central Hawke's Bay College were the first schools to jump on board.

Mr Agnew said they were currently in the process of building more contacts and creating more opportunities but so far what they were seeing was exciting.

"It is really cool to be able to offer to places like Wairoa and the willingness they have for us to make a change up there is great."

Mr Agnew said they plan to get the best professionals on board and align with AUT in Auckland and the long term athlete development principals.

"Just two months ago we had two professors from AUT Millennium in Auckland run a course here and we put recent graduates through it so we will continue to align closely with them. "

He said there would also be himself, who is a lecturer in bio mechanics and sport science at EIT, and they would also have local providers of the highest quality delivering programmes.

Central Hawke's Bay College attended their workshop yesterday at EIT and spent time in the gym focusing on fundamental movement patterns and then headed to the physiology lab for testing.

CHB college staff member in charge, Jamie Welch, said the programme had been a huge success so far.

"We have a combination of year nine and ten students from our sports academy involved and the knowledge they have gained has been fantastic."

"I was speaking to a first year EIT student and they had not even done what we had already done. It is helping the kids become better athletes."

Mr Welch said they had been doing everything from nutrition to developing power, agility, speed and balance.

"They are learning how to maximise ability and it is great having the voice of a professional rather than just me teaching the kids."

Mr Welch said the programmes future really excited him, as the school has never had anything like it before.

"It is great little old CHB has been included and it is not only teaching them how to be better athletes but it is setting them up for life, improving their health and well-being to."

Mr Agnew said physical literacy was a new area so to get the programme out to the public was crucial.

"So far it is going really well but we are still in the process of making contacts to form opportunities so the programme can expand. Ideally all kids regardless of social or economic background should be able to have access."