Orange coaches and athletes will form a dominant contingent in the Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) for 2023 after squads were announced at its annual athlete orientation on November 12 and 13.
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Over 130 athletes and coaches selected in the Basketball, Cycling, Golf, Hockey, Lone Star, Para Sports and Triathlon programs were in attendance over the weekend. Trials for the WRAS Greater Bank Netball squad will be held November 20 finalising all squad selections for the 2023 programs.
In Basketball, Scott Holmes and Jamahl Zegzula will be part of the coaching staff while Xavier Scovell Wynne is in the senior squad. Patrick Frew, Shaylee Holmes, Milo Mages, Amarii Pitt and Clifford Smith will be part of the junior development squad.
Xavier Bland, Cameron and Lachlan Crump will be in the Cycling squad.
The hockey squad includes Amelia Heath, Mark Jachi, Zoe Tattersall and Zoe Wood with Ian McAlister on the coaching staff. Triathlon has Sam Bayada, Anja Dally and George Hogg as athletes with Rory Thornhill and Tristan Harrison coaching. Jocelyn Blair (Athletics) and Luke Hinrichsen (Athletics) are in the Lone Star squad, while Bruce McLean is part of the goal coaching staff.
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On November 12, the athletes undertook a range of sessions including team meetings, sport specific education sessions and physical testing and movement screenings with the support of Charles Sturt University exercise science interns.
All WRAS athletes participated in a session with Teams Challenge Australia (TCA) involving a range of challenges designed to foster team communication, leadership, problem solving, comradery and team chemistry.
WRAS Executive Officer, Candice Boggs said the TCA sessions offered the athletes a chance to bond as a squad whilst also learning about how their breath can impact performance.
"The TCA sessions saw our athletes participate in unique tasks like the team tarp, partner blindfold obstacle and rope whisper challenges. These activities were important for bonding to gel the squad at the start of their WRAS Program. The TCA staff finalised each session with education about how athletes can control their breathe to utilise oxygen," Boggs said.
On Sunday, the Basketball and squad Hockey squad trained locally whilst the Triathletes undertook sport specific testing and the Cyclists competed in the Bathurst Cycling Clubs handicap races.
Reflecting on the weekend Boggs said it was an overall success.
"Orientation weekend is always a great opportunity to bring all athletes and coaches together to understand the big picture of WRAS and the overall purpose of the academy,"
"We're looking forward to working with this year's cohort of athletes and coaches, I'm sure we will see some amazing achievements from this group in 2023."
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