PHD student at the University of Notre Dame Australia Kevin Grima, is hoping to give Australia’s next generation of soccer superstars the best possible opportunity for international success by investigating ways that coaches, teachers and parents can grow the sport at a grassroots level.
Kevin, a research student in the University’s Institute for Health Research on the Fremantle Campus, recently returned from a two-week educational and coaching workshop in the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, supported by the Western Australian Government’s Department of Sport and Recreation and funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
The islands are Commonwealth non-self-governing territories for which the Australian Government has responsibility with Agencies such as the Department of Sport and Recreation, funded by the Australian Government, to provide services. This was the first time a coaching program of this nature had been delivered on the islands.
Working with parents, school teachers, volunteers and players, Kevin, also an accredited soccer coach with Football Federation Australia, delivered a series of sessions which aimed to boost their skills and knowledge of the game in order to conduct effective soccer programs in their communities.
Despite soccer being the dominant sport with children and teenagers on the islands, and in many other Australian communities, Kevin said that without sufficient coaching expertise or adequate resources, such as sporting equipment, players would not be able to reach their full potential.
“If support isn’t provided at an early stage in a footballer’s career, players will leave soccer for another sport or quit their involvement in sport altogether,” Kevin said.
“Soccer is not just another sport for the communities of the Cocos and Christmas Islands; it is an important social tool which builds morale and positivity amongst its people.”
“I hope my research can provide further skills, knowledge and resources to coaches in grassroots communities across the country to give them confidence in their abilities to train and develop Australia’s next soccer superstars.”
Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, Paul Rycroft, said Kevin was one of a number of outstanding graduates of Notre Dame’s Bachelor of Health and Physical Education program to have taken their careers to another level.
“The flexible postgraduate options provided by the University allowed Kevin to study a Master of Education whilst working at Safety Bay Senior High School as a specialist Soccer Academy Coach, then as a Lecturer at Central Institute,” Mr Rycroft said.
With an ethical approach to education in a friendly and flexible learning environment, Notre Dame’s postgraduate and higher degree research students are given every opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge through practical placements with ‘real-world’ clients.
“Practical experiences such as this provide our research students with the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of their area of interest,” Professor Beth Hands, Director of the Institute for Health Research, said.
“Through this unique experience, Kevin was able to gather some preliminary data that will inform the development of his PhD proposal as well as establish important contacts in the field.”