Performance Health Initiative to Boost Junior Athletes

Athletics Australia (AA) is on the lookout for junior athletes to participate in a new performance health study, focusing on reducing injury and illness to propel pathway athletes forward.

In order to perform at their best, athletes need to be fit, healthy, and ready to train and compete.  Two of the main reasons why athletes run into roadblocks with training and competition is illness and injury, and research suggests that being unable to complete enough planned training sessions harms performance. Injuries and illnesses also make it harder for athletes to develop towards their potential, and are a leading cause of dropout in developing athletes.

To keep pathway athletes engaged and retain talent in the sport, AA will embark on a new research study, with a view of developing an on-going health system for pathway athletes.

Funded by the Australian Institute of Sport’s Performance Pathways Solutions Grant, and in partnership with the AIS’ Stay Healthy initiative, the 12-month study will call upon both able-bodied and Paralympic track and field athletes between the ages of 15-20 to participate in weekly and monthly questionnaires to provide insight into their total training time, current injuries and illnesses week by week, and understand variables such as sleep and stress.

The end goal is to understand the prevalence of injuries and their causes, and to better support athletes and coaches in reducing the impact of injuries and illnesses, which will hopefully lead to enhanced performance, progression, and retention as a result.

“Athletics Australia is in a really unique position to be able to help our developing athletes and potentially bolster their performances on the world stage with this study,” said AA Athlete Pathways Manager, Craig Pickering.

“The more we understand about an athlete and their context around injuries and illnesses, in comparison with their performance, the better we can identify patterns and trends, and, in turn, support athlete and coach in their development.” 

“It’s a really exciting opportunity for the sport, and we believe it could really make an impact on performances at the elite level in the years to come.”

Tokyo qualified sprinter Rohan Browning is just one athlete, who believes he could have reached his goals much earlier in his career if it wasn’t for injury.

“During my junior career I suffered numerous injuries which prevented me from performing well at major championships and precluded me from making the team for the World Junior Championships in 2016. Injury is an inevitable part of sport, but there is a lot that can be done to avoid it,” Browning said.

“I’ve come to realise the importance of research backed, data driven methods for identifying injury and illness risks, so that my coach and I can modify training when we need to, so there’s no guess work involved. I believe wholeheartedly that if you can stay injury free and avoid illness, you’ll improve in this sport.

“I strongly encourage all junior athletes to get involved in this initiative. They’ll do themselves and the sport an incredible service.”

Coach of world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber and AA Event Group Panellist for Para throws, Mike Barber said:

“The more insight we have into an athlete’s unique and individualised context, the better we can formulate bespoke training plans to support the athlete in their development.”

“As a coach, I can see the issues athletes have with on-going and longer term injuries that require regular management; being able to get on top of these issues early on would enable coaches of all levels to better support the performances of the athletes they work with.” 

Athletes are encouraged to register before the end of the Australian Track & Field Championships.

For more information, contact Craig Pickering at craig.pickering@athletics.org.au or view the Pathways section of the website (https://www.athletics.com.au/high-performance/pathway-able-bodied/). 

By Sascha Ryner
Posted: 08/4/2021