What is AASE?
30th May 2010
AASE (Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence) is a sporting qualification unique for young elite performers. It is designed to suit the needs of players who have a the potential to achieve excellence in table tennis. Focusing on sporting development and employability the AASE offers an outstanding opportunity for young players to fully engage with the sport. The AASE is not simply a qualification for ‘playing the game’. The AASE framework follows a distinct philosophy based on athlete and employer needs.
Research has shown that only a small percentage of the young people who embark on elite training in their chosen sport are successful in sustaining a professional or full-time career. In the majority of sports, earnings are not sufficient to make this possible and – in many cases – young players fail to realise their early potential or suffer injuries that impede their development. What’s more, even if a young person is successful in achieving a professional contract or a full time occupation, their career as a performer often has a fairly limited lifespan. Most professional athletes’ careers are in decline by their early thirties and some are often forced out earlier due to injury, loss of form, or employer financial constraints.
So to be a real success, it was important that the AASE framework provided the possibility for second career development. The framework, therefore, not only gives young people the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge needed to perform at the highest level, but also opportunities to broaden their expertise into other technical/occupational areas within the Active Leisure and Learning Sector. This includes work within the related fields of coaching, sport development, health and fitness, operational management of sports facilities, sports leadership and the outdoors.
The AASE is expected to make a real and tangible impact on UK sport over the medium to long term. As well as providing athletes with more quality coaching hours, better access to modern, well- equipped facilities and new technologies, the AASE also ensures athletes gain the knowledge and skills required to have a successful career – on or off the field.
The AASE caters for athletes aged between 16 and 18 and has four categories of involvement. These include:
1. Professional, full-time athletes
2. Athletes involved in the Talented Athlete Scholarship
Scheme (TASS)
3. Athletes identified by their NGB as ‘elite’
4. Athletes involved in the academy environment at professional clubs.
Why join the AASE programme?
The AASE helps develop and nurture elite athletes. The programme gives athletes more quality coaching hours, better access to modern, well equipped facilities and the use of new technologies. It also provides for second career development, should an athlete fall short of their ultimate sporting goal or choose to follow an alternative career path.
