Athlete Development

Athlete Development is a course designed primarily for learners aiming to develop their personal attributes as an athlete and who are willing to apply themselves to reach their full sporting potential. It also builds experiences and understanding of the demands and practices of the high performance sport environment and the surrounding culture, mindset and work ethic required for success.

Learners will be given ongoing opportunities to prepare and test their progress and gather feedback from several sources as they work to improve their overall athletic performance.

Course content and work requirements are designed to help support learners to plan, participate in and regularly evaluate and refine their own annual training and competition program. The teacher and specialist coaches work in partnership and share regular communication with each other to help monitor learner progress throughout the training year.

The athlete utilises their personal testing and profiling data, training and competition journal and results, to regulate and adjust their training load and focus. This is done through integrating their experiences with a range of contemporary training, conditioning, and sport science practices shared during the theory component of the course.

Athlete Development consists of three modules which are generally delivered concurrently and, where possible, at times which best reflect the training and competition phases for the individual athlete.

Athlete Development focuses on sports-specific learning from the perspective of developing personal athletic potential. The course explores current approaches and gives learners opportunities to apply theory and concepts aligned to high performance sport to their own context. It requires significant individual effort and application from learners as they engage in various sessions focussed on critical elements leading to improvement in their chosen sport. Athlete Development supports and monitors the overall personal program for each athlete, including emphasising and monitoring the balance between technical development, physical preparation and sports specific knowledge.

This course provides learners with an athlete development program based around individual need and ability. The course requires high levels of motivation and a full commitment to a personalised training and competition program which is adapted to the learner's preferred sport and personal circumstances.

As well as developing club and regional level athletes, the course adequately prepares those learners who enter with high level attributes, potential and aspirations for professional or elite pathway options including possible scholarship entry into the Tasmanian Institute of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport.

Athlete Development is a level 2 course in the Sport group of the Health and Physical Education (HPE) suite of courses.

Athlete Development aims to:

• provide learners with insight into contemporary approaches in training and recovery management and impacts on exercise performance that will enable them to apply sport science principles to refine their practice
• develop learners' capacity to recognise how the healthy human body works during exercise and apply exercise physiology principles to evaluate and manage their own programs
• enable highly motivated and committed student athletes to develop skills in time and workload management through annual training program design, implementation, evaluation and refinement
• provide a broad general understanding of the specialised skills, standards, practices, expectations and pathways available for future work or study in professional fields and discipline areas related to HPE
• help learners develop an awareness of the core disciplines of sport sciences; bio mechanics, skill acquisition, sport psychology and exercise physiology
• help learners to build a range of appropriate skills in preparation for competition, employment or volunteer roles in the high performance sport environment
• develop learners’ general knowledge of key concepts, language, conventions, ethos, and context of study specific to this field.

On successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:

Learners must:

• have a supporting reference from a sporting body, coach and/or other qualified individual (e.g. a past coach, club official, past or current HPE teacher) who is prepared to endorse the enrolment and verify the athlete’s capacity to successfully complete the course
• compete in a recognized sporting competition in the year they undertake the course
• be involved in a physical preparation, sport-specific coaching and technical training program
• be aware that while inclusive of learners with varying levels of talent and athletic attributes, this course has a focus on the athletic development of learners in competitive (not recreational) sports contexts.

Learners will be involved in creating a positive group environment and a culture of teamwork and supportive interaction with others. This will be an ongoing priority throughout the course and reflective of the climate and expectations typically placed on athletes and staff in state and national level high performance sport environments across Australia. A strong work ethic and commitment to developing personal potential are fundamental to success in this course.

Athlete Development extends on the Australian Curriculum - 9/10 Health and Physical Education.

Strand:

• Personal Social and Community Health

Focus Areas:

• Being healthy, safe and active
• Communicating and interacting for health and wellbeing
• Contributing to healthy active communities

Strand:

• Movement and Physical Activity

Focus Areas:

• Moving our body
• Understanding movement
• Learning through movement.

This course is suitable for learners aiming to reach their full sporting potential and possibly intending to follow a career in high-performance sport. It will provide a platform for learners who progress to high-level local, regional, state or national clubs, high-performance academies, sports institutes, and professional sport.

The sports industry is highly competitive and contains a diverse range of related careers and opportunities. Athlete Development will assist in preparing for a range of roles in the fitness, sport and recreation industry and for those who intend to be involved as a volunteer in sport. This course also prepares learners for multiple study and vocational futures in related fields. Athlete Development provides some relevant background for learners who plan to undertake Sport Science Level 3 by introducing many of the key terms, concepts and approaches during their experiences as a working athlete using current research and best practice.

The course also provides useful skills and knowledge for learners who wish to undertake VET qualifications such as: Certificate II/III in Sport and Recreation; Certificate III in Fitness; and Certificate III in Aquatics and Community Recreation.

In addition to a standard classroom environment, learners must have access to resources that allow an appropriate physical preparation and technical training program to be undertaken.

Learners must have access to facilities and equipment to support regular performance assessment and testing using accepted sport science protocols to monitor personal progress.

Providers of this course must ensure learners have access to suitable facilities, coaching, sports equipment, spaces, sport science testing equipment and IT facilities to support the course requirements for personal research and recording, training, conditioning and testing.

Specialist conditioning equipment (such as weight training equipment) and suitable training spaces are also required.

This course has a complexity level of 2.

At Level 2, the learner is expected to carry out tasks and activities that involve a range of knowledge and skills, including some basic theoretical and/or technical knowledge and skills. Limited judgment is required, such as making an appropriate selection from a range of given rules, guidelines or procedures. VET competencies at this level are often those characteristic of an AQF Certificate II.

This course has a size value of 15.

The sequence in which the course’s modules is delivered is not prescribed.

In most cases the athlete would benefit from working across each of the 3 modules concurrently with the timing and emphasis reflecting the competition phase for their particular sport.

This course is designed to enable concurrent delivery of the 3 modules within a single academic year.

Athlete Development provides sufficient flexibility in time and focus to address individual competition seasons and planned variations of training load. Intensity and focus within the regular cyclic nature of conditioning and technical training, education sessions, performance reviews and fitness assessment, must reflect the learners periodised year as closely as possible. Study of this course is to be undertaken in wide social context requiring recognition and balancing of competing commitments (other studies, out-of-school training, part-time work, etc...), and with consideration of its place in the longer term development of the athlete learner.

The content is delivered across three (3) modules of study.

• Module 1 – Specialist and Technical Coaching/Training (suggested 50 hours duration)
• Module 2 – Physical Preparation and Performance Measurement (suggested 50 hours duration)
• Module 3 – Athlete Education (suggested 50 hours duration)

All content in Modules 1 and 2 is compulsory.

Module 3 contains five (5) compulsory units, and one (1) elective unit chosen from a range of three.

Learners must show evidence of participation in:

• at least 50 hours of recorded structured and sequenced specialist sessions and technical training that reflect their personal goals and annual training plan (These sessions must be run by suitably qualified and endorsed coaches and address Module 1 content.)
• at least 50 hours of recorded teacher-led conditioning and testing sessions to meet the requirements of Module 2 content
• approximately 50 hours of Module 3 sessions addressing a total of 6 units (5 compulsory + 1 elective)

It is a requirement that learners maintain a suitable Athlete Training Journal. This is a critical tool for sharing communication, recording and evaluating performance and managing training and competition loads and priorities. In order to facilitate safe storage and easy access together with shared ownership of the relevant sections, time efficiency and to reflect practice in national high performance programs, an electronic journal format is recommended. This tool is also a key source for evidence of assessment as it is the central information source that drives and records athletes’ work across the year.

For Modules 1 and 2, learners will need to regularly use their Athlete Training Journal as a primary source of recording evidence of their progress and workload. If using a suitable online tool designed with shared access features, this could also serve to facilitate and record communication between athletes, parents, teachers and coaches.

It will also be the vehicle for parents and specialist coaches to share and store periodic progress reports, athlete evaluations and feedback.

For details of the Athlete Training Journal requirements see Appendix 1.

All learners must:

• undertake a minimum of three (3) appropriate fitness tests during their program of study at appropriate points of the competition calendar including pre-, mid- and late-season. If this does not coincide, additional, tests at the beginning and towards the end of the course should also be completed
• regularly meet and with their teacher and their specialist coach(es) to review progress and gather feedback
• maintain a comprehensive Athlete Training Journal (refer Appendix 1) that integrates and includes testing records, training comments, competition notes and reviews, coach feedback, personal planning, calendar, meeting and communication notes, etc... (Course providers may consider identifying and using a suitable web based option to facilitate access, storage and sharing of information between the learner and their support team.)

All coaches must:

• collaborate with the teacher and athlete as part of this course
• be suitably qualified in the learner’s sport
• hold current Working with Vulnerable People registration
• be endorsed by the sport’s peak body as suitable for the role and competition level.

MODULE 1 – SPECIALIST AND TECHNICAL COACHING/TRAINING (Suggested 50 hours)
Learners must be undertaking a recognised sporting competition accredited by a national sporting body in the calendar year the module is undertaken. The learner will work with a qualified coach (endorsed by the sport’s peak body) who will communicate regularly with the teacher. The teacher will oversee, mentor and help manage the overall program including all required activities in the nominated sport.

The learner will develop knowledge, skills and experience to improve their performance. In this module the athlete will undertake the practical elements of training. It is mandatory to maintain records of sessions and competitions related to this module in the Athlete Training Journal.

The coach will be required to provide regular and formal feedback to inform teachers’ assessment of the specialist and competition components of the learner’s program. While the coach may also use information from the Athlete Training Journal as partial evidence for assessment, the teacher will be responsible for: designing assessment methodologies and collating judgements; interpreting and aligning feedback to the course criteria; and making and recording all aspects of overall student assessment. (See Appendix 2 for role of Coach in assessment.)

Minimum Work Requirements

MODULE 2 – PHYSICAL PREPARATION AND PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT (Suggested 50 hours)
The implementation of a physical preparation and technical training program is fundamental to improving athletic performance. There will be a focus on preparing and implementing an appropriate program based on:

• the components of fitness and appropriate testing regimes
• a range of contemporary strength, conditioning and recovery methods
• planning a program utilising periodisation as a basis for long-term goal achievement.

Learners must undertake appropriate fitness tests during their program of study. These will be at the beginning and towards the end of the course.

Learners will gain knowledge and understanding of:

• fitness testing and measurement protocols
• how testing is conducted
• why testing is conducted
• how to read/interpret test result
• how results can be used in the process of:
  • setting of personal performance goals
  • developing, modifying, and adapting the physical preparation and technical training program.

In addition, the Athlete Training Journal will be used as a record where learners: outline personal goals; record communications regrading fitness tests and their results; and their physical preparation and technical training program.

Learners may use an appropriate electronic journal tool in line with contemporary high performance sport programs.

Learners will work towards achieving incremental improvements during each phase of their training program.

Minimum Work Requirements

MODULE 3 – SPORTS KNOWLEDGE TUTORIALS (Suggested 50 hours)
Learners will develop an understanding of the critical elements that impact on sports performance.

Learners will complete five (5) compulsory units and one (1) elective unit.

Compulsory Units:

1.  Goal Setting

1.1  Goal setting – purposes and priorities
1.2  Effective use of time
1.3  Personal commitments and organisation

2.  Basic Physiology

2.1  The skeletal system

• role during exercise
• genetic and developmental considerations
• posture, diet and injury prevention

2.2  The muscular system

• role in movement
• genetics, muscle fibre types and advantages for sports
• hypertrophy and atrophy
• impact of aerobic and aerobic training methods
• developing core strength and stabilisers

2.3  The circulatory system

• components and roles
• impacts on exercise performance
• training adaptations

2.4  The respiratory system

• components and roles
• impacts on exercise performance
• training adaptations
• asthma, air quality, and extreme weather conditions

2.5  System integration in sport

• relative roles and significance of body systems in your sport
• combined impact on sports performance
• implications for training program design and personal performance

3.  Nutrition and Recovery

3.1  Food types and classification
3.2  Basic diet analysis
3.3  Special requirements for athletes
3.4  Introduction to recovery
3.5  Drug testing procedures, ASADA, information sources, supplement and substance awareness
https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/education

4.  Injury Prevention and Management

4.1  Classification of injury
4.2  Prevention of injury – managing safety, preparation and recovery
4.3  Treatment of injury – short and long term
4.4  Basic taping methods
4.5  Roles of sports medical professionals
4.6  Establishing contacts: building your support team

5.  Competition

5.1  Planning
5.2  Travelling to compete
5.3  Pre-competition lead-up
5.4  Post-competition follow-up
5.5  Applied psychology.

Elective: choose and complete* one of the following elements

Coaching
coaching certification** – successful completion of appropriate sport specific course (approx. 8 hours)

OR

Refereeing
refereeing certification** – successful completion of appropriate sport specific course (approx. 8 hours)

OR

Annual Program Planning (approx. 8 hours)

• periodisation, workload and training phases
• Individual sport-specific program design
• Using technology to help display and manage training across, macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles

*  Learners must participate for the full time allocation of a certified course to meet the requirements of this elective. In the event that the learner does not a) compete the course or b) gain certification, their assessment must reflect this.

** Note these may have varying requirements depending on the sport undertaken. The provider will need to liaise with the appropriate sporting body for information to ensure alignment with the most current and appropriate certification program.

Minimum Work Requirements

The Athlete Training Journal must contain records of the elements as outlined in Appendix 1.

Processes and expectations surrounding the nature of communication between the athlete, specialist coach, teacher and support team are outlined in the Communication Guidelines in Appendix 2.

Summary of Minimum Work Requirements

Criterion-based assessment is a form of outcomes assessment that identifies the extent of learner achievement at an appropriate end-point of study. Although assessment – as part of the learning program – is continuous, much of it is formative, and is done to help learners identify what they need to do to attain the maximum benefit from their study of the course. Therefore, assessment for summative reporting to TASC will focus on what both teacher and learner understand to reflect end-point achievement.

The standard of achievement each learner attains on each criterion is recorded as a rating ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’, according to the outcomes specified in the standards section of the course.

A ‘t’ notation must be used where a learner demonstrates any achievement against a criterion less than the standard specified for the ‘C’ rating.

A ‘z’ notation is to be used where a learner provides no evidence of achievement at all.

Providers offering this course must participate in quality assurance processes specified by TASC to ensure provider validity and comparability of standards across all awards. For further information, see quality assurance and assessment processes.

Internal assessment of all criteria will be made by the provider. Providers will report the learner’s rating for each criterion to TASC.

The following processes will be facilitated by TASC to ensure there is:

• a match between the standards of achievement specified in the course and the skills and knowledge demonstrated by learners
• community confidence in the integrity and meaning of the qualification.

Process – TASC will verify that the provider’s course delivery and assessment standards meet the course requirements and community expectations for fairness, integrity and validity of qualifications TASC issues. This will involve checking:

• student attendance records
• course delivery plans (the sequence of course delivery/tasks and when assessments take place)
• assessment instruments and rubrics (the ‘rules’ or marking guide used to judge achievement)
• class records of assessment
• examples of student work that demonstrate the use of a marking guide
• samples of current student’s work, including Athlete Training Journals.

This process may also include interviews with past and present learners.

It will be scheduled by TASC using a risk-based approach.

The assessment for Athlete Development Level 2 will be based on the degree to which the learner can:

Athlete Development Level 2 (with the award of):

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT (EA)
HIGH ACHIEVEMENT (HA)
COMMENDABLE ACHIEVEMENT (CA)
SATISFACTORY ACHIEVEMENT )SA)
PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENT (PA)

The minimum requirements for an award in Athlete Development Level 2 are as follows:

Exceptional Achievement
4 ‘A’ ratings, 1 ‘B’ rating

High Achievement
2 ‘A’ ratings, 2 ‘B’ ratings, 1 ‘C’ rating

Commendable Achievement
2 ‘B’ ratings, 3 ‘C’ ratings

Satisfactory Achievement
5 ‘C’ ratings

Preliminary Achievement
3 ‘C’ ratings

A learner who otherwise achieves the rating for a SA (Satisfactory Achievement) award but who fails to show any evidence of achievement in one or more criteria (‘z’ notation) will be issued with a PA (Preliminary Achievement) award.

The Department of Education’s Curriculum Services will develop and regularly revise the curriculum. This evaluation will be informed by the experience of the course’s implementation, delivery and assessment.

In addition, stakeholders may request Curriculum Services to review a particular aspect of an accredited course.

Requests for amendments to an accredited course will be forward by Curriculum Services to the Office of TASC for formal consideration.

Such requests for amendment will be considered in terms of the likely improvements to the outcomes for learners, possible consequences for delivery and assessment of the course, and alignment with Australian Curriculum materials.

A course is formally analysed prior to the expiry of its accreditation as part of the process to develop specifications to guide the development of any replacement course.

The accreditation period for this course has been renewed from 1 January 2022 until 31 December 2025.

During the accreditation period required amendments can be considered via established processes.

Should outcomes of the Years 9-12 Review process find this course unsuitable for inclusion in the Tasmanian senior secondary curriculum, its accreditation may be cancelled. Any such cancellation would not occur during an academic year.

Version 1 – Accredited on 5 September 2017 for use from 1 January 2018. This course replaces ATH215113 Athlete Development that expired on 31 December 2017.

Version 1.a - Renewal of Accreditation on 14 July 2021 for the period 31 December 2021 until 31 December 2023, without amendments.

Accreditation renewed on 22 June 2023 for the period 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2025 without amendment

Outline of Athlete Training Journal Requirements
Throughout the year of study, all learners undertaking the Athlete Development Level 2 course must maintain and complete an Athlete Training Journal as the major evidence for assessment.

Content must be regularly updated and the learner is responsible for ensuring content is current and appropriately organised.

Journal Use
The learner is typically expected to update entries within 48 hours of training and events.

The Athlete Training Journal is a primary communication tool to support information sharing and recording of feedback and interactions with the teacher, specialist coach, parents, and support team. Details of meetings, messages, actions and decisions reached between parties should be recorded in the relevant sections.

Journal Content
The Athlete Training Journal must contain (but is not limited to) sections that address the following content:

• training sessions
  • fitness and conditioning
  • sports-specific/technical
• training program and loads
• testing data and review
• competition calendar
• competition evaluations
• coach reports
• parent feedback
• athlete self-evaluations
• teacher feedback
• KPIs and regular progress reviews
• support team, emergency, and other useful contact numbers

Other information that may be recorded in the Athlete Training Journal:

• travel and accommodation details
• medical details
• health insurance
• resources, articles, and links
• equipment management
• milestone event/performance evaluations

Journal Format
Tools such as Strava, MapMyFitness, FinalSurge, Training Peaks, Today's Plan, The Athletes Diary, GoldenCheetah, Googledocs/sheets, OneNote, Thapos, and Smartabase are recommended as some examples of electronic options to consider in choosing a format for creating and maintaining the Athlete Training Journal and analytics.

Other resources to consider include:
http://asc-spacebook.weebly.com/training-diary-templates.html 

Communication Guidelines: Teacher, Specialist Coaches, Parents/Guardians and Athlete Support Team

Communication methods

• regular communication between all parties managing the programs and development of each individual athlete is essential for effective holistic management of the learner
• as the person responsible for delivery and assessment of this course the teacher must ensure that effective mechanisms and expectations are in place and that communication and feedback pathways remain open and positive for the learner
• if all parties are comfortable working online electronic communication provides some excellent tools to ensure collective awareness and the convenience of asynchronous and accurate recording
• all relevant communications should be shared in a suitable format to be recorded and stored as part of the Athlete Training Journal – this may involve emails, forms, documents, in either paper-based format, electronic files, or a combination of these formats
• the teacher may develop and require the use of standard forms to ensure feedback aligns to the course design and is of a suitable format and consistency for effective assessment.

Specialist Coaches
As a minimum will need to commit to providing the following:

• evidence of their endorsement by their sporting body
• Working with Vulnerable People registration (before commencing work with the learner)
• contact details and an agreed preferred process for regular exchange of information (e.g. email)
• preseason profile, athlete evaluation and recommendations
• at least 4 formal phase/term athlete progress reports shared with both athlete and teacher providing ratings against the relevant course standards and citing supporting examples as evidence
• a personalised end of season summary/review.

Parents/Guardians
As a minimum will need to commit to providing the following:

• athlete medical records and contact details
• at least 4 phase/term athlete progress reports
• injury reports/medical certificates/appraisals/advice as relevant
• making contact in-confidence with the teacher around any personal issue/injury/crisis/concerns if they arise
• an end of season summary/review/feedback.

Athlete Support Team
Nutritionists, physiotherapists, development coaches, masseurs, etc... must all be provided with the teacher’s contact details and be aware of the course provider’s overview role in managing the athlete program. Without breaching professional ethics this team should be asked to make contact if/when they feel there is a need to share an issue, concern or positive feedback.

Line of Sight – Athlete Development Level 2