Aspiring female footballers aged 15 to 17 were given the opportunity to get a taste of life at the elite level last month, through Fremantle’s newest program, Peak Performance.

Around 70 participants were involved over the two-day program held at Fremantle’s elite training facility in Cockburn, delivered by a number of Freo’s AFLW footballers, coaches and staff.

Fremantle stars Kara Antonio and Aine Tighe were two of the main drivers of the program, alongside Freo’s community engagement operations manager Graham Mills.

The experienced Antonio said that the all-encompassing program focused on more than just what takes place on the football field.

“We wanted to take them through all the important elements, not simply just the practical sense,” Antonio said.

“We highlighted the importance of things like leadership, nutrition, cultural awareness, recovery and injury prevention, the last of which was led by our high-performance manager Kate Starre.

“The skill development is already well and truly past probably what I was at their age!”

Fremantle’s AFLW senior coach Trent Cooper was impressed with the skills on display from the participants, and hoped they took away some valuable learnings from the two-day event.

“Watching how engaged the girls were and seeing their skills was really exciting,” Cooper said.

“It’s a great chance for those young girls to work with our AFLW players and Kate Starre (Fremantle’s AFLW high performance manager) as well to expose them to things they may not have been exposed to before, like coordination work.

Participants had the opportunity to work with and hear from Freo players and coaches about their journeys to the elite level, the successes and challenges they have faced along the way and the lessons they have learned which have helped them reach their peak.

Jorja Haines, the daughter of Freo’s AFLW midfield coach and former Docker Daniel Haines, was involved in the program and said it was exciting to learn off those at the elite level. 

“It was very impressive to see everything that’s available for the girls coming through,” Haines said.

“This facility is very good compared to the things I’m used to, It’s very high level and high tech!

“I think this program can be really impactful on younger people’s lives, and really show them what to achieve and how good it is to be an AFLW player.”

Participants were also given a Peak Performance training shirt, a Peak Performance journal and the opportunity to play in a curtain raiser prior to the AFL Women’s scratch match between the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles at the culmination of the program. 

Antonio said she is looking forward to the continuing growth and development of Freo’s Peak Performance program as it looks to build to be even bigger and better over the next few years.

“I can’t wait for this to grow over the years, we had so many participants this year already,” Antonio said.

“It will be great to see how this program builds momentum through next year and gets the word out that this is what we are about at Freo.

“It’s incredible, being able to help create that next generation of AFLW footballers and to be able to give them the exposure of what it takes to be an athlete at the top level.”