The Drapac-Porsche Development Program’s mandate is to comprehensively develop elite athletes and to educate them that success and self worth are constituted by more than just athletic excellence.

There is no doubt that sports stakeholders are concerned with addressing the too-frequent occurrence of the “black hole” that athletes find themselves in once their sporting careers have ended; be it depression, social dysfunction, financial instability or lack of employability. But despite these concerns, the problem often persists.

In order to develop a sustainable solution to this problem, two fundamental shifts are required:

1. Traditionally, development programs are based around a cost-benefit model whereby a certain level of funding is provided to obtain a satisfactory level of athletic success. Whilst this model has proven to be successful, it does not factor in other, often intangible, costs and benefits. Accordingly, the cost of athlete development needs to needs to be expanded to include not only the dollar cost, but also social costs, educational costs and health costs in developing elite athletes. Similarly, the benefit measurement needs to include not only athletic success, but also educational success, social adjustment, personal development and financial stability.

2. Development programs must have as strong a commitment to the well being of the athlete after their career as they did during their career. Put simply, should an athlete descend from a glorious sports career to an inglorious post-sports career, society has failed them. As a society, we enjoy the intrinsic pleasure derived from the performances of our elite athletes and thus we must compensate them for their sacrifices by assisting in the transition of life after sport.

The application of the above is not difficult - it simply requires society to make a vigorous and appropriate commitment to developing programs containing the structure and discipline which will ensure that an athlete develops and maintains numerous dimensions to their life (other than their sport) that will sustain their concept of self worth and self esteem during, and most importantly, after their sport.

In practice this requires an athlete to:
• Have a social network outside of their primary sporting activity;
• Participate in vocational, personal development and other educational opportunities;
• Remain in a home environment as long as possible (environmental stability).

Our Program is committed to improving elite athlete development and we believe our success will lead the way in Australia and inspire others. We look forward to working with the stakeholders of Australian sport in developing this model to ensure that we develop champion athletes into champion people.