1st CAAD Day a Success!

On Tuesday 20th October 55 young people with disabilities from around Northamptonshire converged on Kettering Conference Centre to participate in the first ever County Athlete Assessment & Development Day (CAADD).

All of them had been selected to participate in the CAADD by Teachers at their respective schools following assessments that had taken place during their P.E lessons.

The CAADD is a part of the Youth Sport Trust’s Playground to Podium (P2P) initiative with the idea being to try & identify young people with a disability that have a talent for sport while at school, and give them the best opportunity to fulfil this potential. The ultimate goal for the CAADD & P2P is to create a talent pool for the 2012 Paralympics & beyond.

At the CAADD the students participated in Wheelchair Basketball, Table – Tennis, Athletics & Football sessions overseen by coaches from each of the sports National Governing Bodies. They put them through a series of challenges on which they were assessed & graded according to their ability. This grading then forms part of feedback given to the students, and signposts them to where they should go next within the sport in order to help them improve & hopefully reach their potential.

For those showing a low level of ability they were advised to keep practising on basic techniques, and fundamentals of the sport back at school. Those showing a reasonable level of ability were signposted towards a local club where they can improve their skill level further with the help of qualified coaches, while also gaining some competitive experience in the sport. Finally those showing a high level of ability were looked to be placed within regional, or national pathways of the respective sport. This will hopefully allow their talent to be nurtured, and given the opportunity to compete with, and against people of a similar if not higher level of ability with the hope that this could raise them to the standard required to perhaps become future Paralympians.

The CAADD was rounded off with an inspirational speech made by Daniel West who has represented Great Britain at the Discus & Shot Put at no fewer than 4 Paralympics! He told the young people about how he got into sport in the first place, barriers he’s had to overcome along the way, and the thrill of representing your country on the world stage!

Following the speech the students left to make their way back to their respective schools. They were all feeling rather tired following their exertions, but had smiles on their faces, and feeling inspired to keep working hard at sport in the hope of becoming future stars.