The Australian Olympic movement was in full force last week in Australia’s red centre. Coaches from the Australian Olympic Indigenous Coaching Scholarship (AOICS) program supported by Toyota held clinics in town.
Paris Olympians Tom Wickham and Renee Taylor also worked to inspire classrooms with an Olympics Unleashed presentation helping students to understand the importance of goal setting, resilience and decision making.
The Alice Springs community visit was in partnership with Hockey Australia and set out to not only connect youth with the Olympic movement but to also deliver on commitments in the AOC’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
The RAP commits the AOC to the development of pathways for Indigenous athletes, coaches, sporting officials and other administrators. This trip was the perfect opportunity to put some of our Indigenous hockey coaches through their paces in the local community.
Coaches Dawn Baira (Torres Strait), Travis Carroll (NT), Shana-Ann Casimiro (NT) and Keegan Popowski (QLD) have all graduated from phase one of the AOICS program. This means they can now pass on their knowledge to other aspiring Indigenous coaches. On this trip, they began phase two, applying their new skills through conducting hockey clinics and coaching courses at the Alice Springs Hockey Association.
Keegan Popowski spoke about what it is like to be part of the program and what that means for people in indigenous communities.
“Yeah, I think it’s huge for Indigenous communities to have people in coaching positions that they can aspire to be like, or have people that they can feel like they resemble. The program also helps with cultural awareness and being able to get people to relate to each other in this community.
“This is huge, and it feels like the program has created an easier vehicle for Indigenous people to get involved in and experience sports.”
Keegan was also excited about his future coaching prospects, “I love coaching. I’ll coach any level that I get the chance to do, hopeful future development kids or a higher level. As long as I’m coaching anything, I’ll be happy.”
The visit wasn’t all about coaching, it was also about connecting the community to sport, using lessons learned through sport to help children create the best versions of themselves and get them to aim for a brighter future. Dual Olympian and silver medallist Tom Wickham grew up in Alice Springs and returned to his local school to talk students.
“I feel that having role models and Olympians connecting with the community shows that we care, we’re also in a position where we have a platform to give back to more than just our sport,” Tom said.
“I think sport can absolutely provide a better opportunity for people within this community. For me personally, growing up with hockey here was something that kept me out of trouble, kept me on the straight and narrow, and kept me focused on a dream. So yeah, I’m a living and breathing person and I’ve shown that sport can play a role in providing a better future for children in this community.”
Ack Mercer a teacher at Sadadeen Primary School witnessed one of the Olympics Unleashed sessions and spoke about how the session helped students to frame challenges in their lives and overcome obstacles.
“I thought Olympics Unleashed was fantastic. I liked how engaged the students were and they asked really good insightful questions.
“The message that I thought was really great for our students was that Tom was on the reserves when he went over to the Olympics. He kept training and put in all that work even though he didn’t even know if he was going to get to play and maybe he thought he wasn’t going to get to play. But then because he did, he got the opportunity. This shows his perseverance and aligns with our school values of being strong which is great for our kids to witness.”
AOC CEO Matt Carroll AM acknowledged the important role sport plays in the development of communities like Alice Springs.
“The programs that we have developed and are now implementing in these communities show a clear pathway for indigenous people to develop crucial leadership skills. Developing these skills opens a wide range of future opportunities and helps to build role models in the community.
“It’s through creating leaders that young people can identify with that will reshape how they view their own leadership prospects and how we can create a better and more inclusive sporting landscape. The AOC is about positive practical action that makes a real difference.”
Olympics Unleashed and Australian Olympic Indigenous Coaching Scholarship program will continue to inspire communities in the Northern Territory this month and this week the team are heading to Katherine in the north to connect with more students, athletes, coaches and teachers in the community.
