Our College Sports Captain Jaime Henry was lucky enough to fly over to Melbourne in late January to participate in the National AFLW Academy high performance camp. Here is what she had to say about her experience:
I was involved in nine different training sessions (3 x field, 3 x gym and 3 x recovery) exploring what it’s like to be a part of an elite environment. We were lucky enough to train at GMHBA stadium and use the Geelong Football Club’s facilities.
The best part of the experience was being surrounded by girls from all over Australia who are all committed to being the best they can be and striving for the elite level. It’s really special being in a team with girls all over the country and being able to create such strong friendships even though we only get to see each other for a few days every couple of months.
The next step for me with footy would be to have a successful WAFLW season which is fast approaching to best prepare me for the National Championship games in March 2023. I also have a National Academy game in June which is really exciting and I’m looking forward to it. Towards the back end of the year, I will recover my body and work on the little things where I will then nominate myself for the draft and see where it goes from there!
A piece of advice I would give would be to make the most of every opportunity. What I mean by that is try that new skill, talk to someone new, challenge yourself and be courageous. You learn so much more about the people around you and more importantly yourself when you try to get as much out of the experience as you possibly can.
Photo credit: Courtesy of AFL Photos aflphotos.com.au.
WAIS opportunity for Jack and Chris
Year 11 students Jack and Christopher Wright were both were offered Training Agreements with the West Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) in the week leading up to Christmas 2022 – Jack in Kayaking and Chris in Cycling. A wonderful opportunity for Jack and Chris to further develop their skills in pursuit of sporting excellence.
A typical training regime for Jack includes getting up four mornings a week before school and riding to the boat shed for training. Riding home – breakfast/shower then on the train for school. He also attends the WAIS gym twice a week. Chris’ training has been equally intense over the last couple of years with 100+ km rides, often through the Perth Hills, and many sessions at the Velodrome and road per week.
Chris has represented WA at two Nationals (track and road) and Jack is about to do his first Kayaking Nationals this month after a great performance in the recent State Championships.
Photos: Jack at the recent State Championships, and Chris on track at the Anna Meres Velodrome in Brisbane at the last Nationals.
Congratulations to Jaime, Jack and Chris on these exciting sporting opportunities, we wish them every success in their future endeavours.
