Athletics Victoria’s Target Talent Program is a comprehensive development program positioned to identify and support the state’s most promising young athletes.
The AVTTP has been designed to educate and upskill, with the spotlight on technical skill development, sports literacy, and building high performance behaviours. With a focus on long-term athlete development, the Target Talent Program aims to help athletes and coaches to reach their full potential and achieve success in sport and life.
TARGET TALENT PROGRAM AWARD
In 2024 the Athletics Australia Target Talent program (TTP) aims to offer a flexible education model incorporating online Webinars and an associated Learning portal in conjunction with Practical Masterclasses in each state. TTP will aim to offer a greater environment for athletes to gain further knowledge to aid their performance development towards achieving higher performance standards. The TTP Award will be managed by Athletics Australia and supported by the local state Member Associations.
Athletes are able to achieve the TTP Bronze, Silver and Gold Award by completing each of the units offered through the use of the AA learning Portal and Webinars, hosted by the Athletics Australia Pathway Discipline Coordinators and experienced coaches.
To achieve the TTP Award each year, athletes will need to engage in the following:
- Complete all education Webinars and the required online assessment
- Complete a Goal Setting unit upon selection and Season Review at the end of the competition season.
- Participate in at least 1 Practical Masterclass
Education Webinars
Athletics Australia will host a series of National TTP webinars throughout the TTP squad year. Webinars will focus on athlete and coach upskilling in the areas of Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Sport Psychology, Athlete Wellbeing, Injury Risk Reduction, Biomechanics and Performance Planning.
See below schedule for the 2024 TTP webinar series.
| Performance area | Webinar Date | Topic | Focus | Presenter | Register |
| Nutrition | May 27th 2024 | How to perform at your personal best! | 1. Nutrition considerations for travel 2. Practice pre – competition food, between competition foods, recovery foods & timing 3. Don’t try anything new | Bryce Anderson | (Click Here) |
| Physiology | June 17th 2024 | Athlete recovery | 1. Periodised Recovery 2. Practical Applications of Sleep 3. Recovery Gimmicks | Bryce Anderson | (Click Here) |
| Sport Psychology | July 15th 2024 | Embracing the moment | 1. Psychological expansion. 2. Mindfulness to enhance task execution in contexts that matter. 3. Values in action | Jacqui Sandland | (Click Here) |
| Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement | August 12th 2024 | Balancing education, sport and time away from home | Tools to manage athletes’ education, sport commitments and time away from home. | Belinda Creer | (Click Here) |
| Injury Risk Reduction | September 16th 2024 | Injury Management | 1. Communication is pivotal for early identification and management 2. Get the right information from the appropriate sources 3. Management of injuries relies upon a multidisciplinary approach inclusive of and not exclusive to the athlete, coach, parents, and medical support to plan appropriately towards the common goal | Rob Mullard | (Click Here) |
| Biomechanics | October 14th 2024 | Biomechanics in your DTE | Time points of change, implementation, tools available to you and how you approach Biomechanics in your training environment | Tarryn Elvish / Kirstie Turner | (Click Here) |
| Performance Planning | November 11th 2024 | Reviewing Performance | 1. What did you do well, what do you need to work on in the following areas: Technical / Tactical / Physical / Psychological 2. What tools can we use to review certain elements of our performance 3. Identify areas where progress occurred. (On / Off the track) 4. Provide feedback to your performance support team 5. What external factors influenced performance? 6. What can we do with this review? Plan for the next cycle / race / season. | Adam Didyk | (Click Here) |
Practical Masterclasses
The aim is to connect High Performance Staff / Coaches / Athletes with talented athletes in each state.
Each state will hold a minimum of 2 Masterclasses which will target identified needs in each of their states. Coaches will be included in the consideration of Masterclass content and opportunities for HP Coach education is encouraged.
The 2024 AVTTP is open to athletes born between 2005 and 2009. (Athletes who fall outside of this date range may be considered via discretionary selection).
Please refer to the selection policy below for further information, noting that applications for the 2024 AVTTP Program are now open.