21/10/2026
Remember the drive to their first ever training session? They were nervous. So were you.
They probably went quiet in the back seat, fiddled with their shoelaces and asked if they really had to go in. And you sat in the car park watching them walk through the door, half proud and half wondering if youâd pushed them into something they werenât ready for.
Then they came out an hour later talking a million miles an hour about what they did.
Starting something new is scary at any age, but it hits young athletes especially hard. Walking into a gym for the first time, not knowing anyone, worrying theyâll look silly or be the weakest in the room. Itâs a lot for a 13 year old to carry, and plenty of kids talk themselves out of it before they ever give it a go.
What we see at the THM Academy, week in and week out, is how quickly that fear turns into something else. The kid who barely made eye contact in week one is cracking jokes with the coaches by week four. The athlete who couldnât land a jump without her knees caving in is landing clean and strong a few months later, and walking onto the court with a completely different look on her face. That confidence doesnât stay in the gym either. It follows them into games, into school and into all the other new things theyâll have to face as they grow up.
And to the athletes reading this over Mum or Dadâs shoulder, feeling nervous doesnât mean youâre not ready. It usually means you care. Every athlete you look up to, the ones playing in the WNBL and representing their country, had a first day where they felt exactly how you do now.
So if your young athlete has been umming and ahhing about getting started, maybe this is the nudge they need. The first stepâs always the hardest, but itâs the one that makes all the others possible.
If youâd like to chat about the THM Academy and whether itâs a good fit for your kid, send us a DM. Weâre always happy to answer questions, and we can even organise a time for them to come in, meet the coaches and see the space before they commit to anything.