Multi Skills Festivals link into Talent Academies

Multi Skills is a key part of the Talent strategy as it forms the major part of early years’ talent identification.

Multi Skills are designed to show an overall ability in an individual that would be beneficial to a person potentially performing a variety of sports. Skills such as balance, agility, speed, endurance, co-ordination are the main focus of the tests.

In 2007 Sport Development working in partnership with SSCOs visited primary schools across Tameside to identify the top six students in each school (3 boys and 3 girls). The selected students then represented their school at multi skills festivals at their cluster Secondary school.

There were four festivals held at the four sports colleges across Tameside. The selected students were re-tested with the incentive that finishing in the top 30 would gain them a place in the first Tameside Multi Skills Talent Academy.

The Talent Academy is a year long programme providing the squad with a varied programme to give them the opportunity to showcase their talents from the multi skills programme and adapt them into game play of different sports. The Academy is supported by training and mentoring of high quality coaches who provide pathways to local sports clubs.