Arnolds Creek Primary School students got to hear first hand what it takes to be involved in high performance sport.
Victorian Institute of Sport athlete Zali Ward came to speak to students in April about her hockey journey and elite athlete behaviours
Teacher Kaitlyn Foley said the school signed up for the VIS’s Be Fit Be Well program which allows an athlete to visit the school, share presentations and answer questions that the students have.
“This is the second athlete we have had meet with our students,” she said. “During COVID we organised a dual Olympian to visit via Zoom.
“Both visits were a huge success and had students talking about sports and their own goals.’
Ms Foley said the students were really excited to hear they were having an athlete visit and did some research on her before she visited.
“The students were very impressed to see that Zali lived near our school and spoke about many local places that the students knew of,” she said.
“On the day, all of our students in grades 3-6 were engaged in the presentation with many requesting to play hockey in their break times.
“Having our students meet a young athlete who is striving towards their goals and experiencing great success was important for our students.
Ward said the students were super enthusiastic and engaging and it was nice to do a visit in Melbourne’s west where she grew up.
“I give the students an insight into what it’s like being involved in high performance sport. My biggest takeaway is to enjoy what you do. Everyone’s path is going to be different, but there is a strong focus on the process, not the outcome.”
