Basketballers Hugh Dougherty and Joel Freijah, equestrians Paris Fiedler and Morgan Lane, triathletes Ella and Sienna Walsgott, gymnast Hailey Puls, netballer Molly Lakin, footballer Harley Pope and tennis player Tahlia Thompson have all taken the next step in their young careers. 

Horsham College’s peak performance manager and WestVic Academy of Sport partnership co-ordinator Rod Kirkwood said the idea of the program was to provide education on the type of help available to elite sportspeople. 

“We are going to have information nights for the children and their parents, showing them the kinds of health services they have available to them to ensure they get the best out of their bodies,” he said.

“We are a bit isolated in the Wimmera, so this program is designed to help bring those kind of services available to athletes in Ballarat a lot closer.”

Molly Lakin, Morgan Lane, Hailey Puls and Ella Walsgott all made the program for this year as well. The ages of the 10 athletes selected for next year rang from year 7 to year 10 students. 

Mr Kirkwood said the school was overwhelmed with the amount of interest in next year’s program.

“We had 50 applicants for the 10 positions – we shortlisted 20 and interviewed all of them to gauge their interest and where they want to take their sport in the next 3-5 years,” he said.

“We think we have a really good variety of sports represented in the chosen group.”

The athletes will work with former Horsham College student and strength and conditioning coach Chris Radford, while some players from the Collingwood Football Club will talk with the group in early February. 

“Chris is based in Ballarat now and regularly deals with elite athletes,” Mr Kirkwood said.

“He will meet one-on-one with the students and design programs for them.

“Then some players from Collingwood will talk to the group about their experiences, how they got drafted, their training and also linking in with health services. The idea is all about showing the kids how to use specialist health services.”