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June 10, 2022
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has teamed up with NBA star and Olympian, Patty Mills’ Indigenous Basketball Australia (IBA) and Toyota Australia to create scholarships for Indigenous coaches. As the first-of-its-kind in Australia, the partnership will provide holistic training to four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches, who will then deliver training programs to young Indigenous Australians across the country.
Cassie Dover in Queensland, Tyson Demos in New South Wales (NSW), Joson Ah Sam in the Northern Territory and Tahlia Kelly in Western Australia have been named as the inaugural recipients of the Australian Olympic Indigenous Coach Scholarship, partnered with Toyota.
The program will guide two female and two male coaches through developmental and experiential learning. The holistic schedule, which includes an Indigenous Leadership workshop, will cover key themes such as ‘The Science Behind Resilience’ and ‘Keeping Girls in Sport’ delivered in collaboration with Basketball Australia, The Centre for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) and The University of Canberra.
Funded by the AOC and Toyota, the program will be delivered by the IBA which sees “cultural identity as a catalyst for success and basketball as the vehicle,” believing that the scholarship program provides a unique opportunity to both engage and deliver at a community level.
The IBA was founded by three-time Olympian, NBA San Antonio Spurs star and proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Patty Mills, with the vision of offering pathways for the next generation of Indigenous youth. “It has always been my goal to help realize the potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders across the country,” Mills said. “The reality is that challenges often stand in the way of that potential, for both coaches and players of basketball.
“Through our powerful partnership with the AOC, we have designed a unique program that will not only combat those challenges but will also build capacity in the coaches themselves and equip them with valuable skills that they can then use deep within the community, ultimately inspiring and upskilling those around them. The power of this knowledge sharing cannot be underestimated.”
The initiative was announced at Cornubia Park Sports Centre basketball courts and included recipients, Dover and Demos – who have played in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) and the National Basketball League (NBL) respectively – taking young basketballers through a few skills and drills.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity this will bring me to develop my game and knowledge,” Dover said. “I am honored to be selected and hope that I can transfer what I learn from this program to not just players within my community but also coaches too.”
AOC CEO, Matt Carroll shared that the initiative is a demonstration of the power of Olympic sport and its ability to achieve positive change. The new program is the outcome and development of the AOC’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and ongoing work to establish sustainable practices and programs that give practical support to Indigenous reconciliation through sport.
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