Helping young stars over hurdles

STUDENTS at a Clarendon Vale high school will no longer be held back from entering top-level sporting clubs in Tasmania thanks to a groundbreaking highperformance athlete program.

The Bayview Secondary College High Performance Centre, launched yesterday, is a community-based partnership between the school and southern sporting clubs.

Students enrol as a full- time student at Bayview and have a personalised sports and academic support program developed for them from Year 7 to Year 12.

It will provide athletic and academic programs that support the development of young athletes into highachieving sporting careers. This will be in conjunction with access to targeted career planning and an innovative and progressive curriculum.

Included in the partnership is Tasmanian State League football club Lauderdale, National Premier League Tasmania soccer side Clarence United as well as Tasmanian rugby union side Eastern Suburbs.

Students could choose to go through junior development in their chosen sport within the program before entering a club environment.

Principal Gill Berriman said it was difficult for some students to take part in club sport, but this program would help facilitate their development when they were able to commit.

“Some of our students are disadvantaged but are very good at sports,” she said.

“Some don’t have the ability to get to training. This is something to give our kids equal access to high-quality sports.”

Ms Berriman said the school was also liaising with Cricket Tasmania, Basketball Tasmania and Netball Tasmania to get other clubs involved next year.