The future is bright for the six sporting Taranaki athletes who are part of the 2022 Future Champions Programme.

Six Year 13 sportspeople are part of this year’s programme, that recognises acknowledges and supports the development of emerging Taranaki athletes.

Sport Taranaki works with the Taranaki Secondary School Sports Association and a range of providers to put together a programme of mentoring, personal development sessions, and comprehensive workshops to assist athletes selected for the programme to fulfil their potential. The six athletes are Sophia Hodson, Natasha Gouldsbury, Grace Foreman, Emma North, Jordan Whittleston and Levi Tito-Jordan.

Sport Taranaki Coach Advisor Guy Honnor said the programme was an important opportunity to ensure talented young sportspeople got a range of support and skills to set them up for the future.

“It’s about giving them the best set of tools covering the range of things they will need to succeed,” he said.

The ongoing success of the programme, which was first run in 2007, is down to a team effort of community support, and this year marks a new chapter for Future Champions with the support of Taranaki Foundation’s Coach McKean fund.

Over the years Steve ‘Coach’ McKean has been a massive part of the programme inspiring young athletes. The legendary coach passed away last year and in recognition of the huge impact he had across all sports in Taranaki, His wife and daughter, Rachel and Naomi McKean, partnered up with the Taranaki Foundation to honour his memory and establish a sports endowment fund, with the aim of creating a legacy for young athletes across the region.

The specific purpose of the fund is to help support young Taranaki sportspeople reach their sporting potential through the Future Champions Programme, and by supporting promising young athletes in the broader community. To date, more than $31,000 has been raised.

Jordan Whittleston says the programme had opened doors for him that he had never had the chance to do.

 "For me its just really cool to get access to things I have never had before like sports psychology and free access to physio and pilates...which I have never done before so it's pretty cool."

Taranaki Foundation Community Engagement Manager, Theresa Cayley, says the programme provides a great platform to help Taranaki young promising athletes fulfil their dreams.

“We are excited to support the six 2022 young athletes who each already have an impressive record of achievement and results.  We know that they will all get a lot out of this comprehensive programme.”

New Plymouth Physio are another important provider and supporter for the programme providing a range of advice and support for the athletes.

Since inception in 2007, over 130 Taranaki “born and bred” athletes have been through the programme coming from a total of 26 different sporting codes.  These athletes have gone on to become very high achievers in the sporting world, with four Olympians, over 70 New Zealand reps/champions and six World Champions.

More on Future Champions

Article added: Friday 12 August 2022