The Queensland Academy of Sport is Calling all Daredevils
Do you have what it takes to become the next Olympic skateboarder for Australia and compete on home ground in Brisbane in 2032? The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) has launched YouFor2032, a talent identification initiative aimed at identifying Queensland’s future medallists across numerous sports including Skateboarding. Within Youfor2032, the QAS has also launched Daredevils: an action sport-specific option for 9-15-year-old skateboarders from both Park and Street to give it a go.
Photo provided by QAS
This is the first time QAS has done the talent scouting exercise in skateboarding in Australia, which is a pretty exciting program aimed to find the next Olympic skateboarder but also showcasing skateboarding to young aspiring sportspeople who might not have experienced skateboarding.
The team behind the program is committed to deliver opportunities for talented kids that are keen to build the love of the sport - and the lifestyle - that is skateboarding.
Talent advisor with QAS, Luke Macdonald and Pathway National Coach, Will Styles took time out of their busy schedules to give us a bit of insights about the programs.
YouFor2032
The YouFor2032 program launched in 2022 and is currently supporting 13 - 18-year-old kids who are in the sport already, but also kids who have come from other sports to give them the opportunity to try skateboarding. It is not necessarily the best skaters they’re looking for straight away, it might be someone who learns fast and enjoys being coached.
“There is both an art and a science to the talent identification process, and so the way we approach it is to be as inclusive as possible. We also look at what we call “talent transfer” which is the development of skills and behaviours in other sports and how they can possibly be transferred into skateboarding. For example, kids who are risk takers, thrill seekers and have good spatial awareness. Their rate of learning could be quite incredible so we wanna give them a shot,” Luke Macdonald said.
The YouFor2032 program is currently in their talent confirmation period which is running for three months with weekly coaching sessions in Brisbane, Sunny Coast and Gold Coast.
Coaches are looking at some of following behaviours:
• Growth mindset in skateboarding
• Fearless, not afraid to go hard and try new things
• Works well with a coach and can break down instructions
• Rate of learning
• Turns up ready to roll and enjoys skateboarding
Daredevils
The Daredevils program is an entry option for younger athletes aged 9 - 15 at the time of testing.
The Daredevil testing days will have a more skateboarding sport-specific focus than the general Youfor2032 Talent I.D. sessions, with participants being assessed on skills and attributes required for skateboarding.
“With the Daredevils we’re looking at a younger cohort, we’re trying to reach out to those kids who are skating in contests a bit more or those ones that are progressing through the contest phases to come and apply.” Will Stoyles said.
The Daredevil testing sessions are in March 2023 at various skateparks in Southeast Queensland and Mackay.
What are they looking for?
The end goal is to identify some talent for Brisbane 2032 but what exactly defines ‘really good talent’ and how do you identify it? It’s not an easy task but there are some guidelines for hopeful skateboarders who dream of joining the squad:
Committed to skateboarding
Has lots of fun
Receptive to coaching
Keen to compete
Good goal setters
Pushes themselves
High progression rate
Elite athlete mentality and approach
Loves and lives skateboarding
“The hardest part is the selection process, we look at skill sets, rate of learning but also what we look at is are they starting to demonstrate high-performance behaviours and traits: are they committed to the sport, are they having lots of fun, are they really receptive to their coach, interested in taking it further and push it and are they keen to compete, good at setting goals and live the sport and love it. There will be lots of different things we’ll be looking at as we monitor their progression,” Luke said.
What’s the long term plan?
The YouFor2032 program has commenced a 3-month talent confirmation period which will end in April. Those with potential will be invited onto a 6-month development phase.
Meanwhile, the Daredevils come-and-try-days are in March, and those selected will be invited to join targeted training in a supportive development environment following this.
“Nothing is locked in yet, but we want to create a tight crew of the rippers and look at how we’ll move forward with that, whether it’s weekly sessions or if we’ll do some camps. We want to create a group of skaters who are motivated to improve. Having this group who are motivated but also push each other to learn will create a High-Performance environment,” Will explained.
“We want the best skaters that are competitive but also great friends.”
Ambitions beyond the Olympics
The main goal of the program is to identify talent and find the next Olympic skateboarders, however, Will sees the program having a broader reach in helping to build a lifestyle around skateboarding.
“We want to show the sport of skateboarding, the lifestyle side of it, show the positive connections you make through skateboarding. We want people to know that skateboarding is a really healthy activity not just as an Olympic sport, you can just do it for fun. For some of the kids in Youfor2032 who have come from other sports, we hope this is what they will get out of the 3-month talent confirmation period,” Will said.
“We want to show the sport of skateboarding, the lifestyle side of it, show the positive connections you make through skateboarding. We want people to know that skateboarding is a really healthy activity not just as an Olympic sport, you can just do it for fun.”
Team work makes the dream work
Skateboarding as a sport is still relatively new. Coaching was not a thing a few years back and Skate Australia is still working hard to build a coherent national skateboard association.
In addition to the YouFor2032 and Daredevil programs they are also trying to create better pathways for the coaches and take a more unified approach with them to build something great and make Australia a super power in skateboarding.
The YouFor2032 and Daredevil programs will play an important role in this process as they will direct skaters to the skate schools so the entire skateboard community can grow and flourish.
“With the kids that are really keen but aren’t going to progress immediately we’ll try to keep them in the sport and connect them to other skate schools. We wanna keep them involved in the sport that’s what we really wanna do and say hey look thanks for your three month’s time lets try when we go further with next round in end of 23 or early 24 encourage them to continue to skate in a skate school but also do it as a lifestyle choice, so we really wanna keep them connected to the sport,” Will said.
“But we try to help build a lifestyle around skateboarding too , you don’t just rock up to a coaching lesson once every saturday and that’s all you do for skateboarding, it’s a lifestyle where you live and breath skateboarding, you have your skateboard with you all the time, take it on holidays, go to the shops. It’s more than just a lesson it’s about the lifestyle.”
Find more information about the programs here.
