The Central Coast Academy of Sport major award winners for 2022 were announced at a formal presentation evening earlier this month with AFL player Kaiden McNamara taking out Athlete of the Year.
Academy (CCAS) Operations Manager, Emily Burgess-Moore said that in a year of so many outstanding achievements by so many squad members it was difficult to select just one athlete for this award.
AFL Head Coach, Mitch Ede, said McNamara was a stand out with amazing results achieved by an athlete who was just at the start of his AFL journey.
“He’s had an incredible year of personal growth and development,” he said.
On the back of his involvement with CCAS AFL Program, he was selected in the CHS State side and had an opportunity to trial for the Sydney Swans Academy.
He also had strong performances in the Challenge Cup and Northern NSW representative carnivals.
The Chair’s Award was presented to golfer Georgie Clune who has been an integral member of the CCAS JNJG Golf program over the past four years.
After a tough start to the season Clune represented the CCAS with distinction at the North versus South tournament and then finished off her season by winning the Ladies club foursomes at Everglades by 15 shots.
The Ray Sandell Dedication to Sporting Excellence went to netballers Allie Reid and Charlotte Rousell.
Head Coach Jess Morgan said Reid had been an outstanding role model, athlete and teammate in her three years within the program.
“She embodies what it means to be a CCAS athlete and engages with integrity and pride,” she said.
“Allie is the athlete you want on your team; she’s humble, self-motivated, shows initiative, elevates and supports others, does everything with passion and is mighty talented to top it all off.
“Her instinct and ability when it comes to netball is frighteningly good.
“We can already see pathways opening up for her and no doubt there will be more open up in the future.”
The coach said Charlotte Rousell’s dedication to training, her enthusiasm towards the CCAS netball program and her growth in skill and leadership had been a delight to witness.
“She always represents CCAS with the upmost pride and respect through her actions and behaviours and as a netballer, she demonstrates and embodies many of the characteristics of a high performance athlete,” Morgan said.
“Charlotte is a talented athlete across various codes, who no doubt will experience more and more success in her future.”
Triathlon athlete, Robyn Low-Hart, was presented with the RASi Coaches Award.
Operations Manager, Emily Burgess-Moore said Low-Hart had brought an extensive background to the CCAS Triathlon Program.
“Robyn has had significant success with her coaching of junior athletes and the CCAS is extremely fortunate to benefit from her commitment to the sport and her athletes,” she said.
“The sport of triathlon attracts athletes with a diverse range of skills and ‘talent transfer’ is a critical element of talent identification and advancement up the performance pathway.
“Small ‘wins’ like improving a new technical aspect on the bike can make skill advancement proceed quickly if you are able to sequence the improvement.
“For a junior athlete this is a helpful outcome for motivation as the improved performance results are often seen quickly.
“When you hear and read of Robyn’s commitment to the sport of triathlon, it is easy to understand why the CCAS Tri Program has grown so quickly in a relatively short period of time,” Burgess-Moore said.
Sue Murray