Dedicated Athlete Scheme

We are offering 8 - 12 places per year to sportsmen and women from local secondary schools. These pupils join Shrewsbury School pupils on the Dedicated Athlete Scheme (DAS) for Strength & Conditioning (S&C) sessions (which run weekly), mentor/ goal setting sessions (termly), lecture series (half-termly) and any other sport-specific support we can offer, e.g. cricket 1:1s; joining team practices.

Aims

We aim to share something that we feel will benefit local sportsmen and women - offering them structured training and background activities for their sport.

Background

A former Director of Sport, identified the opportunity as a result of visiting local state schools to promote the Alex Wilson scholarship. The Dedicated Athletes Programme started in 2016.

The timing of our Strength & Conditioning training - 7-8am is followed by breakfast and fits in well with local state school timetables.

Our expansion of the DAS (Dedicated Athlete Scheme) to include non sporting scholars ties in well with the concept.

Resources

The primary resource is accessibility to our Lead strength and conditioning coaches and the weekly S & C sessions, both group and individual. One recent applicant, keen to compete in Dance, was mentored by our Head of Dance. 

The programme is close to full now so the gym space is premium.

We provide breakfast to pupils after their S & C sessions.

Impact

At the end of each year's programme, we collated written feedback on the scheme, asking about enjoyment and sporting performance. Previous feedback indicates that all participants valued their involvement and reported an improvement in their sporting outcomes. All except one wanted to continue with the DAS.

Base-line data on physical performance and attitude towards sport is taken and compared with outcomes at the end of the programme. 

Pupil Involvement

The scheme is targeted for year 9 to 11s, who join our own pupils in those year groups. 

For 2021-2022 we have 14 pupils signed up with a range of 'main sports' being supported including football, rugby, hockey, boxing and dance. 

Frequency

The scheme runs annually and will continues with newly recruited pupils at the start of each academic year.