Academy News

Alumni Set to Compete in SSN Five talented Academy Alumni are set to compete in the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball Competition.

2021/22 Academy Athletes We are excited to share with you the athletes set to join us in our 2021/22 programs

Virtual Netball Challenge Digital Realty Netball squad participated in a virtual challenge to finish the season

2021

ACADEMY

NEWS

|

THIRD

EDITION

WSAS News Welcome to the third edition of WSAS News.

This magazine was created by the Western Sydney Academy of Sport for the greater western Sydney community.

We hope you enjoy all the latest news, athlete insights, events, sponsor information and community engagement that this magazine strives to showcase.

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ACADEMY NEWS

From the CEO

Now that we appear to have regained the many freedoms we were denied by the COVID pandemic and community sport has resumed, the work of Regional Academies across the State has become critically important to the health and wellbeing of our young athletes, and increasingly fundamental to the sporting and general community.

Western Sydney Academy staff have been practically swamped by the volume of interest and activity in our development programs – which has included renewing our current programs and planning for new ones. In recent weeks the Academy has commenced new programs for Golf, Triathlon, Cycling, Rugby Union and Lone Star. Other programs soon to be commenced include Rowing, Softball, Netball, Netball Umpiring, BMX and Volleyball.

As we enter a new phase of servicing and developing our young athletes, influenced by sports science and technology, I can advise of some areas that the Academy will be placing a strong focus on moving forward

– Strength and Conditioning, Athletes with Disability and Child Safety.

The Academy has clearly defined our role in providing fundamental knowledge and guidance to athletes in the S & C field, and together with our partners at Sydney West Sports Medicine, we will be providing some exciting opportunities for our athletes to learn and develop. Information is available on our website.

All Regional Academies have been undertaking a program by which Child Safety will be embedded in our operations, and there will be a focus on athlete and parent involvement in our policy development processes.

The NSW Government recently announced that the Academies of Sport in NSW we will be partnering the NSW Institute of Sport in a regional athlete and coach talent identification project – details of which are not yet available and subject to some further consultation with NSWIS. We certainly look forward to obtaining the details of this project.

In further good news, recognizing the role of Regional Academies, our benchmark athlete multi-sport competition, the 2021 “Your Local Club” Academy Games has been announced as a finalist in the Event of the Year category for the prestigious Sport NSW annual awards. The Academy Games were hosted exceptionally well by the Hunter Academy over the past three years.

As we head towards the conclusion of another disrupted year due to COVID, the Academy is anticipating some exciting program activity in 2022 which will engage our athletes, families, stakeholders and the Western Sydney sporting community. We would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year period and hope to have the opportunity to meet many of you throughout our program operations.

MARTIN BULLOCK CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Digital Realty Netball Squad Attends Virtual Challenge Each year our Digital Realty Netball Squad attends the Academy Challenge in September. The weekendlong event which took place in Orange brings together netball athletes and Umpires from the 11 Regional Academies of Sport and the Sydney Netball Academy.

Unfortunately due to current restrictions, the 2021 Academy Challenge was unable to go ahead as planned.

In place of this event, Netball NSW in partnership with NETFIT Netball hosted a virtual challenge to bring athletes together from all over NSW! The virtual Challenge took place over three weeks.

Throughout the three weeks, athletes had access to the NETFIT App as well as an at-home training plan and weekly online zoom sessions to keep them engaged and motivated.

The last online session included special guests Briony Akle (NSW Swifts Head Coach) and Julie Fitzgerald (Giants Netball Head Coach). Other Netball and sports stars involved in the challenge included Taylah Davies, Sarah Wall, Laura Langman, and Sharni Norder.

The Challenge involved athletes completing on-screen and in-platform engagement challenges to win points for their Academy.

We are pleased to announce that the Western Sydney Academy of Sport finished on top of the leader board and were named the Netball NSW Inter-Academy Challenge winners.

2021/22 ACADEMY ATHLETES ANNOUNCED

Cycling Eight talented cyclists have been named in the 2021/22 squad including returning athletes Samantha Beatty, Jamie O’Callaghan, Jamie Och, Daniel Samuel and Isaac Silva.

Along with the returning athletes, we welcome new athletes for their first year as a part of the cycling squad Ella-Kate Hussein, Georgia O’Callaghan and Oliver Taylor.

Ella-Kate and Georgia join our cycling squad after previously being members of our triathlon squad.

They will receive high-quality coaching endorsed by AusCycling including talented Head Coach James Brown, Manager David Beatty and Assistant Coaches Phil Dobe and David Och.

Golf

Twelve talented golf athletes have been named in the 2021/22 squad including two returning athletes Jericho Cirera and Blake Hodges.

Along with the returning athletes, we welcome new athletes for their first year as a part of the golf squad Thomas Brescia, Owen Brightman, Zavier Button, Julian Callao, Marie – Claire Domingo, Ti Fox, Ryder Jerzyna, Zak Marsh, Noah Reitsma and Brian Wu. Coaching these talented athletes are both David Zahra and Bradley Ward.

Triathlon Nine talented triathletes have been named in the 2021/22 squad including returning athletes Leila Dickson, Lucie Francis, and Lili Roth.

Athletes joining the squad for their first year include Lily Connell, Ella Dickson, Tayha Herrett, Charlotte Hussein, Ethan Mackie, and Cooper McCarthy.

They will also receive high-quality coaching endorsed by Triathlon NSW including talented Head Coach James Sweeney and Assistant Coaches Andrew Wilkinson and Robyn Winn.

Digital Realty Netball There are 24 talented netball athletes named in the 2022 squad including returning athletes Beth Abbott, Angelina Ballas, Isabella Degei, Jayla Dicker, Judith Gould, Olivia Harris, Ani Lewadromodromo, Sophia Meehan, Hayley Price, Charlize Risse, Halle Savage, Charlotte Ward and Zoe Wilmshurst.

Along with the returning athletes, we welcome new athletes for their first year as a part of the Digital Realty netball squad Kesaia Amone, Isabella Brglevski, Tahliah Harding, Nicole Kamotu, Unique Pritchard, Jessica Stevens, Jada Taylor, Annie Tui, Eve Vaitusi, Montana Vaitusi and Solei Vogel.

They will also receive high-quality coaching endorsed by Netball NSW including talented Head Coach Heather Smith, Manager Nikki Welsford and Assistant Coaches Michelle Bullock, Sally Freshwater, Catherine Phillips and Elicha Reitsma

Digital Realty Netball Umpire Seven talented umpires are set to join us in the 2022 season including Kahlie Flynn and Amelie Prosser-Shaw who will be returning for their second year in the Academy program.

Along with the returning athletes, we welcome new athletes for their first year as a part of the Digital Realty Netball Umpires squad Zoe Brison-Schroeder, Abbe May, Elyssa Noney, Ashleigh Sagovac and Louise Viney.

These umpires will be given the opportunity to train in a squad environment with access to quality training facilities at Blacktown Leisure Centre.

They will also receive high-quality coaching endorsed by Netball NSW including talented Head Coach Kiri Bowcock and Assistant Coach Anna Relyea.

SYNDETICOM SUPPORT TALENTED LOCAL CYCLIST The Academy is excited to be partnering with digital infrastructure specialists Syndeticom, as a part of our Ambassador Program. Syndeticom came on board to support the Academy and one of our talented young cyclists Liam Goltman.

We had the opportunity to introduce Liam to Syndeticom senior management team at their Castle Hill offices, with Managing Director Linden Lumbewe, Commercial Director Jarrad Lumbewe and Key Account Executive Michael Caruso all in attendance.

The Syndeticom team are all avid cyclists and were very eager to hear about Liam’s achievements, his upcoming competitions and his goals for the future. To his credit, Liam was very comfortable as the centre of attention and conducted himself admirably.

Managing Director, Linden Lumbewe, commented “We were very excited when the Western Sydney Academy of Sport approached us about sponsoring one of their young athletes. Not only do many of our team members have a shared passion for cycling, but we also know how hard it is for young kids to get somewhere in professional sport, and we are thrilled to be able to support Liam with his goals and development.”

Academy CEO Martin Bullock, who also attended the meeting, commented “our Ambassador Program is intended to provide personal development opportunities for our athletes, and Liam has taken great benefit from his meeting with the Syndeticom team. We extend our sincere thanks to Linden and the team from Syndeticom for their support”.

MEET OUR NEW LONE STAR ATHLETES Eleven talented athletes are set to be inducted into our 2021/22 Lone Star program next week and we are excited to introduce you to them!

First up is 14-year-old Blue Mountains athlete Pheobe Allen. Pheobe competes in athletics and specialises in sprints and hurdles. In the past few years, she has competed at State, Regional and Zone Championships.

Pheobe’s performance in the 200m hurdles at the NSW Junior 2021 Championships has seen her qualify for a place in the 2021 National Championships.

Fellow Blue Mountains athlete Cornelius Appel is a talented fencer. In 2021, Cornelius competed at the MFC Richard Emmerick Shield 1 in both foil and epee and brought home a silver medal and three bronze!

Finlay Burton is another fencing athlete who competes in sabre. Finlay was a semi-finalist at the 2021 Sydney Sabre Open. He also won a gold and silver medal in the 2021 open men’s sabre local competition!

17-year-old Samuel Capararo is an athletics athlete. Samuel specialises in javelin and in 2021 came in 8th place in the U18 Javelin throw at the Australian Track & Field Championships. He also competed at the 2021 ACPE NSW Junior Championships where he secured silver in the U18 boys javelin throw.

Sophia Chen is one of two returning athletes in our Lone Star program. Sophia is a local Penrith Canoe Slalom and Marathon Paddler entering her second year with the Academy. She has competed at a State level multiple times. In 2020 she won silver in both K1W and C1W at the NSW State Canoe Slalom Championships.

MEET OUR NEW LONE STAR ATHLETES Lili Cornish is a talented 14-year-old fencer competing in Epee. In 2021, Lili secured a silver medal in both round one and two of the Open Women’s Epee at the Richard Emmerick Shield. Her local club also awarded her with the 2020 Staff of the Pharaoh – Team Spirit award.

Like her sister, Ruby Cornish is a talented fencing athlete. Ruby competes in Sabre. In 2021, Ruby secured two gold medals at both round one and two of the Richard Emmerick Shield. At round two Ruby also competed in the open unisex sabre division bringing home bronze.

Emmagen Cronshaw competes in athletics and is a State representative for swimming. She has represented Katoomba High School at the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships. Emmagen also came in 8th place in shot put at the 2021 NSW Little Athletics State Championships.

Hawkesbury athlete Blake Pasfield is starting his second season with the Academy. He is a talented athletics and rugby league athlete. Blake was a nominee for the 2021 Hawkesbury Sports awards and was named the 2021 Coles Athlete of the Year. He has competed at a State and National level.

Ella Wallace is a 100 and 200 metre sprinter. For the last two years she has qualified for the Little Athletics NSW State Championships. Ella was named the most improved member in her age group at her local club where she has broken multiple club records.

Our final Lone Star athlete is William Zakis who competes in middle distance and cross country. In 2021, William won bronze in both the 1,500m and 3,000m at the Athletics NSW Cross Country Championships. He also competed at the 2021 NSW Little Athletics State Championships where he placed 4th in the 3,000m and 6th in the 1,500m.

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INTRODUCING OUR INTERNS...

The Western Sydney Academy of Sport has partnered with Western Sydney University and provided two students the opportunity to undertake an internship at the Academy during their University semester.

Caitlin Wilde and Aaron Wartmann are both studying a Bachelor of Business Majoring in Sports Management and are in their second year. Through this opportunity, both students wished to create an understanding of what the world of sports business is really like.

Caitlin’s sport of choice is softball, which she has been playing for 15 years. Between 2018 and 2019 Caitlin was an athlete in the Academy’s softball program. Caitlin said she thoroughly enjoyed her time at the Academy as an athlete and her favourite memory was competing at Newcastle at the Academy Games. She also enjoyed training and travelling as a team to compete.

Caitlin dreams of one day playing for Australia and representing the country at the Olympics. Her greatest sporting memory was winning the NSW national titles back-to-back and being awarded player of the finals.

Throughout her time with the Academy Caitlin was able to gain an insight into the business aspect of how we operate day to day, along with improving her knowledge of sporting organisations and the world of sport in general. Caitlin’s advice for athletes who are participating within the Academy’s programs is to work hard. In her experience the hard work has paid off and has given her an understanding of what it is like to compete a high level.

Aaron is a swimmer who has competed at a National and State level for the past 8 years. He swims at Auburn Swimming Club out of Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre. Some of Aaron’s sporting highlights including making his first national competition at the age of 14, placing 2nd at the 2020 Victorian Open Championships in the 1500m event and placing within the top ten at the numerous Australian Open Water Championships.

Aaron also raced for Western Sydney University at the Sydney Open 2021 Competition.

Although swimming is an individual sport, Aaron believes being part of a strong team is the key to success and some of his favourite memories are from when he is competing with his squad mates.

As Aaron interned at the Academy, he gained an understanding into what the world of sports business entails. He also created quality relationships with professionals within the industry to boost his professional business life. Aaron’s advice for younger athletes is to start good habits early such as eating healthy before competition week and stretching regularly to reduce risk of injury.

Over the past few months, these talented individuals undertook 120 hours of work with the Academy which will go towards helping them complete their bachelor’s degree at Western Sydney University.

Academy Alumni to Play in the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball We are excited to learn that five talented Academy Alumni are set to compete in the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball Competition.

Long-term Swift player Paige Hadley has signed on for another two years with the NSW Swifts and will be joined by Tayla Fraser who will be playing in the Swifts senior squad for her second year.

Queensland Firebirds Kim Ravaillion has re-committed to the club for a further two years after being voted the Players’ Player and Members’ Player in the 2021 season.

Matilda McDonell has re-signed with the Giants Netball and will remain with the club until 2023. Joining her will be former Giants training partner Matisse Letherbarrow who has been elevated to the 2022 senior squad.

Meanwhile, Kristiana Manu’a who has been with the Giants Netball since their inauguration in 2017 is headed back to New Zealand to play for the Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership competition.

These talented athletes have all been coached by Academy Head Coach Heather Smith throughout their time with us. Heather has continued to impress us each year with her outstanding coaching skills and ability to lead her coaching team.

We are so proud of our past athletes and cannot wait to see what the 2022 season holds for them.

Paige Hadley

Tayla Fraser

Kim Ravallion

Matilda McDonell

Matisse Letherbarrow

Kristiana Manu'a

MIZUNO SUPPORTS YOUNG LOCAL ATHLETES

The Western Sydney Academy of Sport is excited to announce that Mizuno, one of Australia’s most reputable high performance golf product manufacturers will be coming on board as one of our Golf Program partners for our 2021/22 program.

With the support of Mizuno, the program will provide opportunities for pre-elite golfers in the areas of technical skill, education, and personal development, preparing athletes for the next level of elite sport representation. Athletes will also receive a supply of Mizuno products to assist them in their training and skill development.

Academy CEO Martin Bullock commented “the Academy’s Golf program provides high performance training opportunities for talented young athletes in the western Sydney region, and the support of Mizuno is a perfect match for our pre-elite athlete development program.”

Head of Golf at Mizuno Anthony Gercovich stated “we are proud to partner with the Academy and offer preelite Golfers the best chance at success through playing with Mizuno Golf equipment.”

We look forward to this partnership and developing the golf program with Mizuno’s support.

Challenge your thinking. Your pathway to Western The College at Western Sydney University provides a direct pathway to a university education, helping you reach your study goals. By offering smaller classes and individual support, you will be well on your way to a university degree at Western, and on track to pursuing your career.

Offering the widest range of pathway courses in NSW, there is sure to be a course for you. Explore our wide range of courses now.

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