Nearly 20 elite junior athletes from 12 different sports attended the first meeting of the South East Athlete Development (SEAD) program in Merimbula last week.

Entrants included players of cricket, tennis, AFL, soccer, snowboarding, athletics and golf. 

Developed by a number of dedicated local coaches and other community members, SEAD aims to reduce the “dropout rate” of talented junior athletes through providing “whole of athlete” skills.

“Southeast NSW, and rural areas in general, have historically produced high quality junior athletes, but there is a very high dropout rate around age 16,” physiotherapist Matthew Lehoczky said. 

The trend was also noted in recent high performance camps for junior rugby league players. 

It is becoming an increasing problem for senior sport that junior players are leaving in their later teen years. 

Mr Lehoczky, who is one of the co-founders of the program said costs and travel impacted heavily. 

“Challenges around travel, availability of higher level coaches, access to funding and a host of other difficulties impact on their desire to continue in their chosen sport,” he said. 

Mr Lehoczky said SEAD was established to help combat some of these challenges by educating sports people on further opportunities.. 

“We’re hoping to help develop a sense of community for these athletes, as well as host of other whole of athlete skills that will motivate them to continue to participate at the higher levels,” he said.

“It’s critical that junior athletes realise they have peers facing similar challenges.”

The program will include expert advice on sports psychology, nutrition, movement patterns and biomechanics, applying for sponsorship and scholarships as well as media skills.

There are a number of opportunities for talented sports people in regional areas, but access to scholarships and training programs can be limited. 

The program aims to provide wider learning to athletes.

“We want to compliment the ‘sports specific’ training these athletes are already receiving”, Mr Lehoczky said.

The program is in its infancy although Mr Lehoczky is impressed with the initial response from parents and athletes.

“Ultimately, it’s about providing as much opportunity as possible for elite junior athletes to reach their potential”, he said.

Mr Lehoczky said living in rural and regional areas provided a number of obstacles for developing athletes, but the program aimed to combat these. 

“We don’t want the rural factor to be both the reason they are unsuccessful and the reason they need to drop out.”

Organisers were happy with the turnout and planning is already underway for more training sessions.