Rising Great Southern Academy of Sport athletes inspired by WA Olympians Charlie Senior and Giorgia Patten

Some of the Great Southern’s promising young athletes rubbed shoulders with Australian Olympic stars during a three-day mentoring program hosted by the Great Southern Academy of Sport last week. Paris Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer Charlie Senior and dual Olympic rower Giorgia Patten visited Albany on Tuesday, December 10, to provide a deep dive into the life of a full-time sportsperson to rising GSAS athletes. During their visit, Great Southern Olympic golden girl Patricia Heberle and WAIS well-being coach Karl Harding joined the two Olympians for a breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn on Wednesday morning. The elite quartet discussed their journey to the world’s biggest sporting stage, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle both mentally and physically, and their daily routines as professional athletes. GSAS executive officer Danielle Carne said the young athletes were blessed by the visit and were inspired and motivated by the valuable advice and encouragement from the experienced sportspeople. “I think the most powerful thing is hearing the words from people who are relevant and people that they can aspire to,” she said. “When you hear it from somebody who’s currently (at the top of their sport) and they’ve been to the Olympics, they’ve got a medal, it carries so much more weight. “(It’s important for the GSAS athletes) to realise that (Patten and Senior) are just people and that these kids aren’t as far away from that level as what they think they are.” Senior held a boxing masterclass on Wednesday afternoon and Patten a rowing session on Thursday morning, while Harding held one-on-one sessions with young athletes on the importance of mental and physical well-being. “Charlie (Senior) did boxing with athletes, so he taught technique, and then afterwards we all stretched and Karl (Harding) did a gratitude circle,” Carne said. “He got all the athletes to go around and say something they’re really grateful for. “Just having conversations with these kids who look up to them and just to see that these little things they do, it’s pretty powerful for them in reaching their dreams. “The academy is really striving to bring more connection between WAIS and increase the exposure the kids are having and bringing high-performance teams and programs to Albany.” Patten relished the experience of influencing the young Great Southern athletes. “I think country kids in general are awesome in sport . . . so for me to be in their environment, learn from them and share a bit of my wisdom has been very special,” Patten said. “If I can give back to the community and try and impart some of my wisdom on the younger kids and really connect with them, it’s been very very fulfilling and rewarding for me.”