Helmed by former Applecross Primary School physical education teacher Luke Cunningham, in its first four months of operation the academy’s fitness, strength and conditioning programs have already attracted more than 150 kids aged between eight and 16.
Former Melbourne, Fremantle and Carlton AFL player Troy Longmuir has just been appointed head coach of a new Aussie Rules program launching this month, with specific basketball and netball offerings coming soon.
“Working as a phys-ed teacher, I realised there was a lot going on in schools and a lot of pressure to fit everything in and so sometimes there was not enough room for sport in the curriculum,” Mr Cunningham said.
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READ NOW“Winning Edge Academy really wants to fill that gap by catering for all kids; we have programs for any kid to come down and get fit and active or even learn footy, basketball or netball.
“Then we’ve also got the separate elite academies, which are designed to prepare kids heading in the direction of top-level sport.”
Currently operating out of South Perth and Applecross, Winning Edge will soon expand to Murdoch University for its basketball program.
“We’re also looking at beginning netball in 2017, the footy academy is launching with a school holiday camp this month, and then Troy and I will be running a pre-season program building towards next season,” Mr Cunningham said.
“I’ve got a lot of experience coaching and with kids but Troy brings the more high-performance knowledge so that we can adapt structures from the AFL and make it quite professional.”
For more information call 0413 780 053 or visit www.winningedgeacademy.com.au.