Programs & Impact

Sport and Youth Development

NASCA’s methodology uses sport and mentoring to engage young people to strengthen culture, build self-esteem and enable a strong sense of autonomy through personal development.

Across our programs sport operates as a ‘hook’ to engage young people across our programs, to encourage health and wellbeing, and to meet outcomes through transferable skill development. Numerous studies and publications have highlighted the strong link between good sport-focussed programs and positive outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Sports programs can encourage behavioural change in young people and skills learnt in sports are transferable to other areas of life.

 

Sport may also remove young people from negative influences like anti-social peer groups, drugs and alcohol, low-self esteem and boredom.

Transferable skills learnt through sport include:
  • Commitment and understanding the consequences of not meeting commitments,
  • Communication skills,
  • Problem solving,
  • Team work,
  • Dealing with stress, and;
  • Goal setting and future planning

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Participation in sport has additional benefits for youth development including:
  • Overall improvements in health and mental health,
  • Self-confidence,
  • Increased sense of social inclusion and community participation,
  • Self-Discipline, and;
  • Structured leisure time.

Participation in sport is also enjoyable, providing an alternative to the conventional education system and is therefore able to directly encourage engagement with school and education.  In addition to this, to effectively participate in sport the participants require a healthy diet and a generally healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, our program model builds in opportunities for skills development and career transition through work readiness qualifications such as coaching accreditations, refereeing accreditations and first aid.