The Regional Academies of Sport (RAS) including the North Coast Academy of Sport (NCAS) have this week launched an online training program for coaches and support staff that promises to be yet another program of unmatched quality.

Having recently hosted a highly successful Regional Academies of Sport Coaches Conference in May, the RAS network has undertaken significant steps to introduce an extension program for coaches. The extension program will host some of our very best coaches in monthly seminars designed to continue the essential professional development needed to upskill regional coaches as they continue to make important contributions to the athlete pathway.

The program which commenced this week saw the highly regarded coach Rob Beveridge open the forum as he addressed the topic of ‘Developing Elite Athletes’. Rob is well known in Australian sport having 30+ years of professional basketball coaching behind his name, being inducted to the Basketball NSW Sporting Hall of Fame in 2019 and remains extremely active as the current interim head coach of the Australian Boomers. 

Following Beveridge will be Scott Wisemantel, another coach on the rise in Australia. Scott is the current Australian Wallabies attack coach, he has worked as a coaching consultant, is a former high-level player and has decades of coaching experience behind him. 

Wisemantel will cover the topic ‘Realities and Challenges of Coaching and Creating Identity Pieces’. 

Following Wisemantel the RAS network have secured the input of Scott Johnson, he too has worked many years on the international stage in Rugby Union, most recently Scott was the Director of Rugby for Rugby Australia working closely with the Wallabies during the Michael Cheika era and previously as the Director of Rugby for Scotland. Scott Johnson will address the often unspoken topic of ‘what I learned from my mistakes’. 

These upcoming sessions promise to provide another unique insight into the learnings from vocational coaches who have incredible history in their respective sports.

D’Arcy Van den Bossche, NCAS Executive Director said of the program “The Regional Academies are always looking for opportunities to engage with relevant education that will add value to our volunteer coaches’ experiences. Connecting academy coaches to Australia’s most experienced coaches allows incredible knowledge to be shared through the pathway which serves all involved. Rob Beveridge was an outstanding way to kick the program off this week and as it continues to evolve the interaction with our coaches will be critical to building strong linkages.”

“The lineup of speakers after Bevo, Scott and Scott continues it’s strength with speakers including para and womens coaches to be announced shortly. The Regional Academies are hugely grateful for the critical support of the Steadfast Group, the NSW Institute of Sport and the Office of Sport for making this program a reality.”