Harts Range Central Desert N.T. ROCKS

Harts Range & Alcoota School
The three musketeers, Dr. Garry Tester, Jordan De Leo (Programs Coordinator) and James Durack (Senior coach) led off a very successful Fitness and Skills program in the “Hart” of the Northern Territory. A small community approximately 200 km outside the centre of Alice Springs, Harts Range is well renowned for its breathtaking landscape and its very historic past. This history has marked the range as a popular place for tourists to go fossicking.

The first day of the program began well, with Jordan & James leading the Harts Range students through a routine warm-up in preparation for the Fitness & Skill testing, whilst Dr. Garry Tester implemented a Professional Development program with the teachers of Harts Range. The warm-ups were focused around static & dynamic stretching, and highlighted the need for its implementation on a daily basis.
Once the students had warmed up, they were put through their paces in a variety of Fitness & Skill tests measuring human movement, strength, proprioception and flexibility. We were very impressed with the overall level of ability the students showed and the visible improvements they had made since our last visit. Each student did a fantastic job, giving everything a crack and pushing their peers to achieve their best.

After the jam-packed morning, the students engaged in a productive goal setting session where they got very creative and learnt some valuable life lessons through the aid of “The Lizard Gang” and “Frog and Toad”. These two great books helped identify the importance of goal setting and teamwork to the students. This was followed by a colorful display of lizard stencils which absolutely “rocked”!
Day 2 and 3 followed a similar structure to day 1, as the Alcoota students arrived in Harts Range and immediately got involved in the Fitness and Skill testing. Along with the Goal Setting sessions, all students participated in a successful Diet and Nutrition program run by all three Sports Challenge coaches. The importance of healthy eating and the four major food groups (Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fruits and Vegetables) were highlighted in some educational activities, as the students got hands on with some creative and colorful food plates and listened to Sam’s Sandwich book.

To round out the program the students participated in a Sports Challenge Team Spirit Games, where each student was placed into a competing team and rotated through a course of sports activities. Each station was manned by a Sports Challenge representative and a couple of volunteering teachers. This was a huge success as the kids learnt the importance of teamwork, Respect and our number one rule “Having Fun”.
It was great to see the kids engaging and having a real go at all the activities we set them. A big thank you must go to all the staff and students from both Harts Range and Alcoota for making the entire program a massive success. “Harts Range you Rock”!