Program helps athletes speak up

Sports Darling Downs' Speak up for Sport program helps athletes boost key life skills.

Speak up for Sport graduate Cameron Shields (right) helps young athlete Aiden Bell with his speech during a recent course. Picture: Contributed

MULTI-SPORT: On the field of play they display natural grace, strength and poise - they shine under the spotlight of pressure.

It is off the field where some athletes struggle - the public speaking events, the media interviews and the sponsorship proposals.

That is why Sports Darling Downs introduced its Speak up for Sport course.

Offered to the various SDD award winners, the program is designed to boost the public speaking and social media skills of its participants.

Karen Smythe has been working with SDD for more than 10 years - a relationship she is very proud of.

"I love seeing their (the athletes) progress and develop,” Smythe said.

"You can see a real change from night one of the course to night three - it's amazing.

"They gain a sense of achievement and confidence and so do I watching them.”

Smythe's association with SDD began a number of years ago when she was approached by the organisation's president Mick Smith.

"Mick thought it was a good idea to help develop the public speaking of the athletes,” Smythe said.

"Then we introduced media and sponsorship elements and in the last few years we added social media.

"James O'Shea works with the participants on the media element - the key is to ensure you don't reply with a yes or no.

"We encourage them to succinctly tell their story and make it a learning experience for the journalist.

"Being able to effectively communicate with current and potential sponsors is also important.”

Smythe also believes the skills developed during the course are useful in everyday life.

"Not everyone of the athletes involved will go on to professional sporting careers,” Smythe said.

"Everyday we speak to someone and then there are other things like job interviews or speaking to our peers and colleagues at work.

"Having confidence in those areas is important.”

Originally published as Program helps athletes speak up