Plenty has been shared about the success of three of Whanganui Multisport Club's young kayakers, Aiden Nossiter, Toby Brooke and Max Brown, including their strong performance at the 2015 Junior and Under-23 World Sprint Championships in Portugal earlier this year.
Something we might not be quite as aware of, however, is
the extent of the team work that goes into helping these athletes grow and develop, and prepare themselves to perform and compete at top levels.
All three were among the Wanganui-trained athletes announced this year as 2015-2016 intakes for Sport New Zealand's (NZ) Pathway to Podium (P2P) programme.
Now in its second year, P2P is the national talent development project helping young emerging athletes prepare for the demands of high performance sport. The programme brings Sport NZ's high performance expertise to athletes and their coaches, and combines with support services available in their region.
Regional talent hubs have been established in around 14 regions across multiple sports and athletes are helped through tailored support systems identified in individual support plans. These include the provision of workshops across athlete life, strength and conditioning, nutrition and sport psychology.
While Toby Brooke and Max Brown are now being supported by the Wellington P2P due to their studies at Victoria University, Aiden Nossiter continues to be supported by the Whanganui P2P, which Sport Whanganui's Nicole Dryden coordinates for the Whanganui, Rangitikei and Ruapehu districts.
According to Nicole, it's by no accident that Aiden, Max and Toby have been competing at world junior kayak championships in recent years.
"Each of these young athletes has tremendous talent and commitment levels - juggling paddling on the Awa, the gym, jobs, studies, home-life, sport workshops and fundraising - all of which is geared at giving kayaking their best shot. Along with this, however, they also have a dedicated coach and support crew - they are using opportunities such as P2P and they come from a fantastic club."
The Promising Athletes programme (PAP), the talent development programme, which precedes the P2P programme and focuses on helping condition young athletes aged between 15-18 years and their coaches, is also packed with Whanganui Multisport Club members. This includes another four kayakers and Briley Zimmerman. Briley qualified this year for the under 19 age-group in the 2015 Chicago ITU Aquathlon World Championships and, at the time of writing, is currently competing - with the support of P2P and PAP coach Gareth Wright - at the Adelaide 2015 ITU World Duathlon Championships."
Around two years ago, Whanganui Multisport Club and Sport Whanganui worked together to bring about a multisport development officer role to support the multisport club and its growth and development.
Amie Simpson, who took up the role, works to put in place an important support framework for athletes from within the club who are competing nationally and internationally.
"I get a lot of joy from seeing our local talent develop and am here to support them in any way I can by creating opportunities for the sport and athletes to grow and develop," says Amie.
In addition to the work that Amie does, Whanganui Multisport Club provides talented paddlers to coach younger members. This embodies the club's values of giving back and everyone supporting each other and opens up the possibility of career options.
Nicole adds: "We have a lot of evidence that shows how successful athletes grow out of clubs who are highly supportive; who have clear pathways in place for their athletes and coaches; who are open to trying new things and are all connected to shared goals; who are helping each other.
"We know that our region has many clubs like this and we want to encourage everyone to share their successes and take a look at what other clubs and codes are doing well for their athletes and coaches. By working together and helping each other in this way we can help our young athletes on their journey to become the best they can possibly be."
¦For more information about the Pathway to Podium and Promising Athletes programmes, contact Nicole Dryden on (06) 349 2319 or email: nicole@sportwhanganui.co.nz.
MULTISPORT Club coaches and parents attended a Pathway to Podium workshop with Olympic psychologist Gary Hermansson. From left: Gareth Wright (P2P/PAP Triathlon coach), Clare Zimmerman (PAP parent), Robyn Scott (PAP/P2P parent), Brian Scott (P2P/PAP Kayak coach), Gary Hermansson, Tania Nossiter (P2P parent), Aiden Nossiter (P2P athlete and Kayak coach), Rob Conder (Athletics coach), Ross Cronshaw (basketball development officer)
Plenty has been shared about the success of three of Whanganui Multisport Club's young kayakers, Aiden Nossiter, Toby Brooke and Max Brown, including their strong performance at the 2015 Junior and Under-23 World Sprint Championships in Portugal earlier this year.
Something we might not be quite as aware of, however, is