Orange will play hosts to the Western Region Academy of Sport hockey squad this Sunday 11 December for an intensive training day. Athletes from across the region will arrive at the Orange Hockey Fields at 8am for a full day of training.

The 2012 squad consists of some of the most talented young sporting stars of the future as evidenced by the recent selection of thirteen WRAS athletes in the NSW Country sides which will take on their City counterparts on 3-4 March at the Macarthur Hockey Complex in Sydney.

WRAS athletes selected included Lachlan Sharp (Li), Amy Capaldi (Li), Andrea Gillard (Li), Jess Luchetti (Li), Abigail Wilson (Li) , Rachel Divall (Or), Renee Hunter (Li), Amelia Leard (Li), Jessica Watterson (Bx), Sarah Watterson (Bx), and Emily Williams (Li). Graduates Jack Eckford (Du) and Casey Hunter (Li) were also selected.

Whilst the athletes continue to achieve higher representation, Head WRAS Coach Wayne Gaynor of Lithgow has also been busy this past week coaching the Australian Country U21 Women’s team at the Oceania Pacific Cup in Fiji. This team also includes more WRAS hockey graduates in Brooke McFadden and Mahala Williams, whilst Orange’s Tim Eslick is a member of the men’s team.

With Coach Gaynor on representative coaching duties overseas, WRAS assistant coaches Beth Shea (Or) and Bob Redding (Li) will put the WRAS squad through their paces this Sunday.

Athletes, coaches and support staff from the Western Region Academy of Sport are in for a hectic weekend as four WRAS squads come together for some intensive training across the Western Region.

Bathurst will host the WRAS netball squad over two days of training, with Head Coach Keryn Gribben putting the shooters through a specialist shooting session on the Saturday from 1-4pm, whilst the whole squad will be in action on Sunday at the Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium from 9am-4pm.

The WRAS basketball squad will take to the courts at the CentrePoint Sport and Leisure Centre in Blayney on Sunday from 10.30am-3pm for their second hit-out of the year.

Head Golf Coach Bruce McLean will bring his squad together on Sunday at the Orange Ex-Services Club golf course, teeing off on the range at 9am.

Finally, after a couple years hiatus, the newly formed WRAS softball squad will travel to Mudgee on Sunday for their first squad training session at the Mudgee softball grounds (at Westend playing fields) with Head Coach Alan Walker at the helm with training commencing at 10am.

WRAS will be holding their Orientation weekend 12-13 November 2011. This event will coincide with the Annual WRAS Presentation Awards night.

Download the WRAS Orientation schedule here for more information.

WRAS athlete with a disability Rachel Staines from Bathurst has been awarded the Beverley Whitfield Encouragement Award for swimming. She received the award on the weekend whilst competing at the Multi Class NSW swimming championships at Homebush. 

The Award is named after an Australian legend in swimming. Beverley Whitfield’s achievements in the pool were outstanding. In 1970, at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, Beverley won a gold medal in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and the medley relay, each time breaking a Commonwealth record.

At the age of 18 years at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Beverley set a new Olympic record by taking out a gold medal in the 200m breaststroke, making her the first Australian woman in 40 years to win that event. She also won bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

The Award rounds off a great year for Staines who has been tearing up her opponents in the pool. Only recently Staines competed in 8 races at the Australian Age Multi Class Champs in Homebush, swimming 7 PBs and winning 2 Bronze medals.

Staines has a small break in her schedule now however will continue to train in preparation for the busy competition season in January 2012.

By Sam Debenham (The Western Advocate)

THE Western Region Academy of Sport secured a coup over the weekend as renowned basketball mentor Ganon Baker came to Bathurst to help ‘coach the coaches’ and impart some of his considerable knowledge.

A number of basketball mentors from across the region were subject to plenty of training from Baker, who has plied his trade with some of the world’s greatest players including NBA stars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter.

A former high school, college and professional player, Baker has been in the coaching game for the last decade and has become one of the foremost tutors in the sport in America.

Since meeting WRAS director Brett Coxsedge eight years ago, he has been a regular visitor to Australia and jumped at the chance to make an appearance in Bathurst.

“I train kids from as young as 10 right up to NBA and WNBA level, through clinics, DVDs, coaching certificate classes and motivational talks,” Baker explained. “After playing in high school, college and as a pro, I went back and coached at college for five years as an assistant and I’ve been doing this for about 10 years now.

“The thing about coaching is that the same lessons I give to someone like LeBron James, who is at the top of the sport, are often exactly the same as the lessons a hockey coach might teach his players.”

Baker went on to explain that the only thing that separates some of the world’s greatest players and coaches from the people who he was instructing in Bathurst is the personalities and motivations of his students.

“The lessons don’t change, only the talent level and the personality,” he said.

“The importance of success changes too, for a LeBron James basketball is their job and their livelihood, so their motivation is different to a 12-year-old who just loves playing the sport but it doesn’t mean everything to him if he wins or loses.”

In the time Baker has been coaching, Australia’s presence in the basketball world has grown and he sees a positive future for the sport in this country given the potential available.

(Photo by Zenio Lapka)

Click the following links to view the list of successful athletes:

• 2012 Golf squad
• 2012 Lawn Bowls squad

WRAS is looking for positive, passionate and hardworking people to undertake squad staff positions for its 2012 Basketball, Golf, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball and Softball programs. Applications close Friday 16 September.

Download the Coaches and Managers wanted Flyer for 2012 to find out more!