Developing leadership and capacity in sport for development for people with a disability. Time to lay the foundations and build from the bottom up.

A key focus for me in 2021 will be working to build the capacity of people with a disabilities across the community and sport for development sector.. Throughout my career I have had extensive experience in designing and developing sport for development programs tailored for people with disabilities and in particular those with intellectual disabilities. It has been a rewarding but steep learning curve.

The Community Street Soccer Program across Australia engages many participants from disadvantaged backgrounds with intellectual disabilities and also facing other challenges like homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse. And one of the highlights of my career has been developing the Street Soccer Program in the Marlborough Unit of Port Phillip Prison which has now been running for over ten years. The program supports the rehabilitation of prisoners with cognitive impairment and connects prisoners with community programs upon release hence tackling recidivism. The program coordinates special events in which corporate and community teams come to play in day long tournaments which give the prisoners opportunities to build their interpersonal  and communication skills with people on the “outside”.

 I am often approached by  a range of stakeholders to design and develop programs for people with disabilities which is always humbling but the question I ask is why people with a disability aren’t doing this work knowing they would be best placed to know the barriers and enablers that participants may face. Similarly when I attend meetings at a  range of community/social and sport for development forums I rarely interact with people with a disability or have their input ( of course knowing well that disability isn’t always disclosed or evident). Research also tells us that people with a disability are underrepresented in all areas of volunteering an din leadership positions especially in sport.  Not to mention under-representation in so many other sectors and areas of life!

Generally I have focused on delivering my Community Leadership through Sport Program for young people and emerging leaders in the sector but I have a renewed motivation to find opportunities to build the capacity of people with a disability particular in these settings. Understandably the sector is focused on developing physical activity and participation in sport for people with disabilities and there has been huge growth since the implementation of the (NDIS) but perhaps we have missed a step and missed an opportunity to build something from the ground up with solid foundations. This will not only empower people with a disability but also naturally achieve more effective and successful programs.

 My leadership programs are adaptable and varied and cover everything from the theory of sport for development, practical skills like coaching and facilitation, funding acquisition, marketing and even some psychology and behavioural change theory. It is a program designed to cover the key skills, knowledge and attributes needed to deliver sport for development programs. Helping grow this new generation of community sport and sport for development leaders is a challenge that I would love to take up and one that the sector should prioritise!