THE effort and attitude grading used by American universities will make up part of the criteria for students taking part in Warrnambool College’s Sporting Pathway Program (SPP).
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Each of the 100 students involved in the program will be forced to maintain at least 70 per cent effort across all classes in a bid link sporting passion with academic success.
The program will allow students to base their program around a sport of their choice, including Australian rules football, soccer, tennis, golf, basketball, hockey, cricket and netball.
Students will undertake two periods a week of strength and conditioning, one period of an advanced fitness program, one theory session, and two coaching or training sessions before or after school hours.
It will also include two trips to Federation University – in Ballarat – to undertake pre and post testing sessions.
SPP director and mentor Adam Matheson said the school launched the program alongside a brand new high performance centre.
He said the program, currently operating with a pilot class, was gearing up for its full intake of students at the beginning of next year.
“We’re looking for innovative ways to engage students – not just in a sporting capacity, but academically as well,” Matheson said.
“The south-west has a strong culture of sport and tying that passion in with attitude and effort was the way to go.”
The program will be available for students in years seven to 10.
The high performance centre – a fully functioning gym – has been set up to include exercise bikes, which track heart rates and effort by colour coding, weight machines and dumbbells.
Matheson said the theory, strength and conditioning and fitness were mostly integrated into the Victorian curriculum.
“One area of theory that we’ve considered has been heart rate zones,” he said.
“They’re learning how to work to fatigue and stress, making sure they aren’t overtraining or overstressing their bodies.
“The accountability factor we’ll have is similar to that of the Unites States’ college system.”
Matheson said the program was not solely for up-and-coming elite athletes.
“There are certainly some elite athletes in the 100 students that we have in the program for next year, but there are some that are driven by sport and aren’t elite by any means,” he said.
“We want to develop students in a sporting capacity while maintaining that 70 per cent effort and getting the best out of themselves academically.
“I suppose we’re trying to get the whole athlete, but also the whole student so they get the best out of it.”