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Junior Taverner of the Year 2015 Phoebe Vlahov
The MWAS salutes Phoebe Vlahov a scholarship holder from cricket who was selected as the Lord’s Taverners Junior Cricketer of the Year for WA in 2015. The Lord’s Taverners are a group of people involved in the development and support of young people playing cricket. Their motto is ‘Giving the young and disadvantaged a sporting chance’ and they do this through the game of cricket.
Phoebe will receive her award at a special Members “an Evening with Brad Hogg” in the Willow room at the WACA in July. After the presentation dinner Phoebe will join other guests to watch the first session of the second Ashes test live from Lords. A voucher for sporting equipment is an added bonus to the recognition of Phoebe’s had work in her sport.
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MWAS athletes moved by Kevin Sheedy
Kevin Sheedy showed that age was no barrier to connecting with young people about sport when he presented to a gathering of young athletes at the Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC). MWAS scholarship athletes and coaches were joined by athletes invited from several sports. All were entertained and informed by a presentation that outlined the key elements Kevin had used to move ahead in his career.
Among the many gems on the whiteboard, the value of idols and of learning from watching the champions were part of the Sheedy message to the young people. The parents in attendance would have been pleased to hear Kevin tell the young athletes the crucial role of the parents in the athlete pathway.
In an unusual twist, Kevin turned the tables and played interviewer for a period, extracting from some unsuspecting participants valuable lessons on how they can learn from their coaches and favourite players. The focus on learning and following dreams was appropriate given the group were within the GUC. The MWAS is grateful to the Networkers Anonymous Group (NAG) for making the session possible and to the GUC for providing the venue.
Kevin Sheedy with happy athletes, coaches and parents after the presentation
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Mind Matters and Mental Skills
The pursuit of excellence in sporting performance has become increasingly about having great mental skills to complement the physical prowess. The MWAS was pleased to welcome sports psychologist Adrian Schonfeld back to Geraldton as part of the ongoing delivery of services in sports psychology. The MWAS understands the importance of the support network around the athlete and workshops were conducted for coaches, parents and the athletes.
Individual consultations were also conducted with each athlete that forms part of the ongoing service they receive over the year. Adrian works at the WA Institute of Sport and is able to provide some valuable practical advice and skills to the MWAS influenced by what he sees at the top end of sport in WA. “We are looking to assist athletes to make a transition from being a good regional athlete to a state, national and perhaps international class performer.”
After only one year in operation the MWAS is proud to see benefits for the athletes in type of specialist service, as reflected by CEO Martin FitzSimons
“Good quality, evidence based information and skills really do help the athletes to focus and understand the challenge of striving to be your best in sport and life. Learning these skills at this stage of their careers helps to set the athletes up for the rest of their lives.” The progression of the MWAS athletes was confirmed by Adrian
“It has been interesting to see how some of the athletes have grown over the last 18 months. The opportunity to meet and speak on a number of occasions allows us to develop better relationships and then tailor our interventions to meet the needs of the individuals in the program.”
The happy group below were photographed at the completion of the group athlete session. From left to right are Standing - Adrian Schonfeld, Lexie Stoner, Phoebe Valhov, Mikaila Watson and Kneeling – Jack Osborn, Emma Burke and Alex Ducas.
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Catching up - Tara Chown Polocrosse
MWAS pleads guilty to missing the odd story for our athletes. Way back in April, MWAS Polocrosse athlete Tara Chown represented WA in the Under 21 women’s polocrosse team at the Barastoc Interstate Series in Queensland. Well done Tara and hopefully this is another step toward senior team representation in the not too distant future.
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Game time in South Africa
MWAS scholarship holder Jane Cooper is captain of the Australian Polocrosse team that plays their first game in the Polocrosse World Cup in South Africa on Friday July 3 against the United Kingdom. Further pool games against Ireland on July 4 and Zimbabwe July 5 will determine if Australia advances to the medal rounds the following weekend.
You can follow the action on the Polocrosse World Cup webpage http://www.polocrosse.co.za/world-cup-2015/
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WA Country Representatives in Basketball
Basketballers Emma Burke and Alex Ducas continue to show good promise as they head to Ulverstone in Tasmania to represent WA Country at U16 level in early July. The pair was photographed below at the uniform presentation that followed the annual Metro v Country clash in Perth. Emma burke will carry the added responsibility of being vice-captain of the team. Two other Geraldton athletes are also in the teams, Max Murphy and Gemma Dix and Mary Burke is reserve.
A quick summary of the weekly schedule for Alex shows the commitment the young athletes are making to their sport. His week includes early morning National Intensive Training Program sessions, weekend state training in Perth, twice weekly gym with MWAS, Young Guns jump program and a winter competition on a Monday night. Showing the character we like to have within the MWAS athletes, Alex also helps out with Midnight Basketball and coaching with Aussie Hoops.
Alex may have caught the keep busy bug from his father and MWAS Coaching Scholarship holder Aaron who is also travelling to Tasmania as an assistant coach. Aaron assists Mark Heron with the Geraldton Buccaneers SBL team, coordinates the Midwest Academy program, is the NITP coach in Geraldton, coaches local A grade sides in season, assists with the umpires, is on the board of directors for the Geraldton Basketball Association and manages a bit of court time in the veterans competition as well!
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The MWAS is proud to play a part in these achievements and wishes the Emma, Alex and Aaron the best for a successful and enjoyable tournament.
Pictured after the Metro v Country clash are Emma Burke and Alex Ducas
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Athlete Snapshot: Zoe Rowcroft - Water Polo
Zoe Rowcroft is the sole MWAS scholarship holder from the sport of Water Polo in 2015. The MWAS is proud to help this young athlete who is clearly on the pathway to bigger things in her sport. Entering Water Polo from the sport of swimming Zoe has been playing for Serpents since she was eight years old. Her first coach Rikki Papertalk must have said the right thing as Zoe has continued to progress and now has MWAS scholarship coach Juli Coffin as her Geraldton based coach.
In what could be a model for other sports, Zoe has benefitted from her sport having positive connections and interaction with the sport in Perth. Zoe attended various talent camps in Perth run by the WA Institute of Sport and WA Water Polo over the last three years. As part of her development Zoe has been exposed to different ideas and coaching and now has WAIS women’s and men’s coaches, Georgina Kovacs and Paul Oberman as mentors and supporters.
The outcomes from her hard work are visible in the steady progression along the athlete pathway evident in her representative history. The progress includes representing Geraldton at the Country State Championships and WA at the National Country competition in 2014 and 2015. The positive links with the Triton club in Perth saw Zoe compete for them at the National U16s competition in Canberra in 2014.
In January 2015 Zoe attended trials at HBF Stadium in Perth for the WA team to play in the National Schools competition hosted in Sydney. Zoe was the only player from the country selected on the team and proudly represented the Mid West. The WA team improved as the tournament went on and secured the bronze medal (photo below) by beating the ACT, having pushed the strong Queensland team in the semi-final.
Her performances drew praise from the state coach Gemma Hadley. A former national team representative herself, Gemma provided valuable feedback to Zoe throughout the tournament that will stand her in good stead as she prepares for next season.
In addition to Water Polo Zoe is an active member of the Geraldton Surf Lifesaving club and plays hockey at both A grade and U17 level. Zoe has represented Geraldton in hockey across several age groups.
Following the challenges of year 12 in 2015, Zoe is anticipating a gap year in 2016 where she will continue to work for the City of Greater Geraldton as a lifeguard at the Aquarena while working hard at keeping the momentum going in her sporting career, and that includes representing Geraldton and WA at ever increasing levels of competition.
The following photographs give a small indication of the fun that Zoe has had pursuing her sporting career goals in 2015.
The WA State Schoolgirls team embraced a celebrity moment with Russell Crowe at Sydney Airport. Zoe Rowcroft is bottom row on the right end
The WA U16 State Schoolgirls 2015 at the bronze medal presentation WA won against ACT 8-5.
Zoe Rowcroft with MWAS coaching scholarship holder Juli Coffin with their MWAS scholarship certificates in February 2015.
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