| The programme – called Most Valued Player or MVP – arranges for athletes to visit the classrooms or sports fields of schools to talk to students about what it takes to reach the top. Under the programme each school will receive four to five visits a year.
Onesource CEO Evan Johnson says Konica Minolta is running the MVP programme as a way of thanking and rewarding secondary schools for their loyalty. “Konica Minolta is a leader in the education market – we supply photocopiers and document management solutions to over 200 secondary schools in the main centres alone. We wanted to put something back into a market that has been good to us,” he says.
Silver Fern Anna Rowberry says the aim of the MVP programme is to impart fundamental ‘lessons for life’ to students, by giving a teaching role to the sportspeople they look up to. “Students aspire to be like the athletes they admire, so it’s instructive for them to hear first hand that behind the glamour of a winning performance are long hours of work and sacrifice,” she says.
“The athletes talk about goal setting, and the importance of sticking to your work plan through the lows as well as the highs. It gives students a real insight into the days and lives of their sporting heroes.”
Anna Rowberry is working out of Konica Minolta’s headquarters to liase both with schools to arrange visits, and with the New Zealand Academy of Sport to source athletes.
New Zealand Academy of Sport North CEO, Peter Pfitzinger, says the MVP programme provides a great opportunity for up-and-coming elite athletes to raise their profile and practise public speaking. “The Academy provides a raft of services to over 900 elite athletes from 21 different sports,” he says.
“Media training is one of the services we provide, so we see the MVP programme as a good fit for athletes who are keen to develop their communication skills.”
The MVP programme will run in all the main centres. Anna Rowberry says that while she’d ‘love to’ send athletes to every school in the country, the sheer number of schools, coupled with the amount of travel that would be required, means MVP must stick to the main centres. “We try to get someone from the region the school is in, both to minimise travel for athletes and to give students a chance to hear from a successful athlete who comes from the same place they do,” she says.
“If a school is strong in particular sports we try to send an athlete who suits that. Although, the programme can also provide an opportunity to hear about some of the lesser known sports, and get students considering something new. “ |