The Athlete Leadership Program
Developing purpose, confidence & accomplishment
Through the Athlete Leadership program, Special Olympic athletes can expand their capabilities further. Venturing on a journey of discovery and responsibility, they are provided with the opportunity to lead within their program, local community or workplace as Athlete Representatives, Global Messengers and Health Messengers. This program allows the athletes to develop a sense of purpose, confidence and accomplishment.
The Special Olympic athletes can share their experiences with others and learn through a range of modules focusing on:
Helps the athletes build healthy relationships by recognising emotions.
Athletes will be guided on how to effectively interact with their teams as a leader.
Athletes are taught effective time management and planning to ensure they are leading with purpose.
Athletes will learn how to start and manage engaging conversations with their peers. They will also understand how to summarise and prioritise the feedback they receive in leadership positions.
Through the Unified Athlete Leadership module, people without intellectual disabilities are encouraged to turn unconscious bias to conscious inclusion. This helps teams, families and wider communities value and learn from people with intellectual disabilities.
The Athlete Leadership Program – Torch Run Leadership Scholarships
After completing the Athlete Leadership program, athletes are provided with the opportunity to undertake tertiary courses at Victoria University Polytechnic through a Certificate I and II Work Education (Sport) courses. LETR Victoria proudly offers scholarships to Special Olympics athletes who successfully complete the course.
Through the courses, athletes have the opportunity to complete work placements and experience the self-esteem that comes with having a job. The courses further develop their confidence to become ‘work ready’ through training, education and experience. This is one of many methods to encourage employers to hire people with an intellectual disability and experience the many positives such engagement can have.
