A wide selection of Queensland sporting organisations came together recently to share their knowledge and ideas at the second annual Hyundai Brisbane Lions Academy High Performance Conference held at the Gabba.

The main purpose of the two-day conference was to discuss the “transition from elite junior to elite senior athlete” across a variety of sports.

Among the other participating sporting bodies were Cricket Australia, QLD Academy of Sport, AFL QLD, Basketball QLD, Southport AFC, Labrador AFC, University of QLD, University of the Sunshine Coast, and a selection of local secondary colleges.

National Talent Manager Rob Kerr, Hyundai Lions Academy Manager Luke Curran, Physical Performance Manager Brett Burton and Development Coach Murray Davis all made presentations on behalf of the Club, and detailed the challenges faced in turning potential young athletes into senior AFL players.

The seminar also focussed on the increasingly popular subject of sports science, with other speakers touching on topics such as the physiological development of elite junior AFL players, skill acquisition and sports medicine.

Cricket Australia’s Sports Science Manager Peter Blanch also gave great insight into the mechanics of fast bowling, complete with an injury autopsy report.

Kerr said the conference proved a wonderful avenue for the Club to gain, and share, valuable knowledge across the wider sports industry.

“One of our objectives for the Academy is to build strong links with other organisations that have similar goals to our own - those being to help young people achieve their athletic potential,” Kerr said.

“The conference helped us do this, while also allowing those included to share research and practical coaching strategies.”

“We hope to make this an annual event and build a strong coaching and sport science community that benefits the Lions Academy and other like organisations.”