It has come to the time of year again where the Northern Inland Academy of Sport have multiple sporting programs concluding their year with the Academy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Amongst these sports are the Athletics NSW program, the 'Jack Newton Junior Golf' program and the 'Tamworth City Toyota' Basketball program.
There is no doubt it has been a different year for our athletes with all squads beginning their programs in the usual way with face-to-face skills sessions, before adapting to programs being delivered online with COVID-19 lockdowns.
Online content was quickly implemented to provide athlete education content on nutrition, performance psychology, healthy body for performance and social media use, skill acquisition content and strength and conditioning programs.
The NIAS welcomed 17 athletes into the 2020 athletics squad.
There was a wide variety of athletes who compete in different track and field events including sprints, long distance running, throws, jumps, hurdles and even steeple chase.
Coaching these athletes to new heights were head coach Adam Joliffe, assistant coach Adrianne Rankin, and trainee coaches Nick Price, Mikielee Snow and Matthew Campion.
The athletics squad finished their year on the track on Sunday 13th September. The athletes and coaches were able to spread out across the Tamworth Regional Athletic Track to complete their year of technique and skill development in each of their events.
Also coming to the end of their program was the 2020 'Tamworth City Toyota' Basketball program with their last training session on Sunday 20th September.
Both the boys' and girls' squads met at the indoor basketball court at Farrer Agricultural and Memorial high school where they trained together.
There were 20 athletes and nine development players joining the basketball program in 2020, with coaches Greg O'Toole as the program mentor, Matt Parsons as the boys' coach, Matt Hobson as the girls' head coach and Sonja Taylor' as the girls' assistant coach.
Hobson said, "It was good for the coaches and athletes to finish what has been a difficult year with the training session on the weekend, but now the focus turns to our 2021 program with trials being held early next month".
The 'Jack Newton Junior Golf' program head coach Darren Burger returned to the Academy in 2020 to enhance the playing skills of the eight golfing athletes accepted into the Academy this year.
The golf program had their last weekend of training on the 19th and 20th September. Following the training on the Saturday morning, our golfing athletes also made their way around the course at the Tamworth Golf Club as they played in the afternoon's competition.
The programs will all be returning to the Northern Inland academy of Sport in 2021, with basketball and golf applications currently open and athletics applications to open closer to the end of the year.
Sports Applications
Applications are open for the NIAS AFL, Basketball, Cycling, Golf, Hockey, Lone Star and Netball programs for the 2020/2021 season. Applications for the 2021 Hockey program will be closing on the 16th October. If you meet the eligibility criteria for one of these sports, we encourage you to apply through our website.