Twelve Indigenous coaches have completed the first sessions of their coaching scholarship program, delivering a sports day for Indigenous children at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.
The coaches in athletics, swimming and hockey received a day of coaching instruction before delivering a hands-on session in their sports as part of their Australian Olympic Indigenous Coach Scholarship program – a partnership between the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and the Toyota Foundation.
AOC CEO Matt Carroll says the coaching scholarships provide practical support for coaches in Olympic sports to further their careers and provide instruction for Indigenous athletes around the country.
“Last year our first scholarship holders completed their training in basketball, in conjunction with Patty Mills’ Indigenous Basketball Australia and our sponsors Toyota. Now we have 12 new scholarship holders in swimming, athletics and hockey benefitting from this program.
“These coaches will receive training in the early part of the week before they put their skills to good use with around 50 young athletes at a sports day at the RAAF Base Tindal. Our thanks to Air Force for their ongoing assistance in bringing Indigenous initiatives to remote communities. This is a highly valued partnership."
The scholarship holders hail from Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. The group was selected by Swimming Australia, Athletics Australia (with the Indigenous Marathon Foundation) and Hockey Australia.
Toyota Australia Senior Manager Marketing Integration Tim Stuckey, congratulating the 12 new recipients, said the Indigenous Coaching Scholarship program reflected Toyota’s values of continuous improvement and respect for people.
“The common theme that’s coming through is the real desire to give back. To have those skills and that knowledge to be able to impart to those athletes is really exciting.
“The coaches are doing it for different reasons – some have had challenges in the past and that’s a great focus area for them. Others have been athletes of some note, and they see an opportunity to give back to the sport that’s given them so much in their developmental years.
“It’s exciting to see firsthand the program come to life and how it’s going to change people’s lives by giving them greater opportunities to be their absolute best and give them a pathway to go as far as they can in their sport. That’s a major contribution to community,” he concluded.
Scholarship recipient Dawn Baira from Badu in the Torres Strait has been coaching for ten years and hopes to produce a young hockey player who can compete in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
“I wish. I am hoping. We are just grass roots in Badu. Hopefully we can get our kids down into the state trials.
“It’s all for the kids. That’s the best we can do. Every step of the way, help where I can – starting from the basics and even to helping the families out along the way,” she concluded.
Shana-Ann Casimiro from Darwin says the emphasis to learning more than the technical skills is critical to being a successful coach.
“It was good to pick up the knowledge on how to coach the girls and treat the girls and keep them involved in sport.
“I really like to get to know my players – so learning how to approach different players has helped me further that knowledge. You can’t treat everybody the same because we all react differently to how we are treated,” she concluded.
The scholarship holders are;
- Dawn Baira (Qld/Torres Strait) – Hockey
- Tiana Brockhurst (QLD) - Athletics
- Simone Carre (VIC) – Athletics
- Travis Carroll (NT) – Hockey
- Shana-Ann Casimiro (NT) - Hockey
- Ben Catley (WA) – Athletics
- Libby Cook-Black (QLD) - Athletics
- Kim Eulenstein (NSW) - Swimming
- Michael Faccin (NSW) - Swimming
- Keegan Popowski (QLD) – Hockey
- Timothy Stephens (QLD) – Athletics
- Andrew Thorpe (Vic) – Athletics
