Programme for Elite Athletes
Help our students rise to the challenge of conciliating academic performance with competitive sports
Reserved for elite athletes from Year 3 upwards, our SPORTS+ programme enables students to combine a rigorous academic programme with elite sports. Our school is the first and only international school to offer this programme. SPORTS+ was launched in 2017 and now has more than 80 students.
Competing at national or international level requires tremendous organisation for our students and their families. The strength of our programme lies in the depth of the support it provides. Our main goal at Ecolint is to make sure that every student reaches his or her full potential. The Sports+ programme is based on 3 pillars:
- Athletic
- Medical
- Academic
The SPORTS+ programme complements club training and goes into greater depth on certain aspects that cannot be dealt with at club level. SPORTS+ provides extensive physical preparation for top-level athletes, with 4 to 5 training sessions per week. After rigorous assessment and evaluation, a specific programme is offered to each student based on his or her needs and on the club's needs.
A tailor-made programme
Athletic
- Work with an external coach
- 2-4 sessions/week with individual fitness trainer and coach
- Competition preparation
- Outside school hours
Training camps
Focus on fitness and individual skills
During school holidays
Specific technical training
Individual skills for popular sports
Medical
Partnership with Hôpital de La Tour
1-2 doctors available for consultations
1-2 physiotherapists on campus every week
1 nutritionist available for consultations
On-demand sports psychologist
Conferences
Several times a year (after school) on themes such as doping, stress management, overtraining
Academic
1 academic supervisor per campus
Every 4-5 weeks: meeting with Sports Director
Follow-up on well-being and absences
Supervised study
1-2x/week after school
Supervision by IB teachers
Organisation of the school day
Students remain in their regular classes
Excused when needed (trainings, competitions, camps)
Academic
Being an elite athlete and a student demands important organisation skills, rigour and commitment. The SPORTS+ programme comes alongside students during their academic journey, acting as a liaison between the school and the student's family.
Elite athlete students benefit from authorised absences to attend competitions. During those times out of school, the SPORTS+ team liaises with the student and their parents in order to provide the class material that was covered. If need be, the SPORTS+ programme also offers tutoring within the school. Every week and on each campus, students can benefit from the presence of a teacher or tutor for 2 hours to help them get back on track.
Medical
Medical support and health management is just as important as the training itself. Ecolint has partnered up with the Sports Medicine Centre at Hôpital de La Tour, which is a fully accredited Swiss Olympic Medical Center, a label that guarantees the best medical support and care for our students. Our athletes benefit from close monitoring and an individual check-up at the beginning of the year with Dr Boris Gojanovic and his team. In addition, the partnership enables the student-athletes to have a priority access to the medical team whenever the need is identified by the support team.
During the year, physiotherapists come on campus weekly to evaluate the physical condition of our students. This allows the whole team to plan the week according to the specific needs of each athlete.
This type of extensive support makes SPORTS+ the most advanced and integrated sports programme in an international school.
Athletic
The SPORTS+ programme also supports our students' clubs and federations. This is part of our unique approach: our coaches are in regular contact with club coaches to make sure the specific programme designed for each athlete is in line with the club's needs. Federations, clubs and SPORTS+ work together in partnership towards one common goal: the well-being and performance of our students.
For some sports such as football or basketball, individual and contactless technical training is provided by our trainers. This type of coaching enables to reinforce technical skills and/or focus on one specific aspect of the student's technique.
Meet the team
- SPORTS+ Team
Administration
Antoine Laffay
SPORTS+ Director
Bertrand Pouilly
Administrative assistantCoaches
Amar Arhab
Physical Trainer
Sally Sarr
Physical Trainer
Julien Taillard
Physical Trainer
Sylvain Chareyre
Physical Trainer
Kamel Boudjellaba
Physical Trainer
Football Coach
Christopher M'Fuyi
Football Coach
Gregory Whibley
Football Coach
Walid Meliani
Track and Field Coach
Jeremy Beyer
Track and Field Coach
Michèle Garlinski
Track and Field Coach
Patrick Macagaza
Basketball Coach
Vladimir Buscaglia
Basketball Coach
Jean-Michel Gay
Gymnatics Coach
Emmanuelle Gay
Gymnatics Coach- SPORTS+ Academic support
Taylor Curry (Campus des Nations)Joanne Sheppard (La Grande Boissière)
Anest Allaway (La Châtaigneraie)
Academic tutor
Valeria GiliAnaïs Gaillard
Kate Harbottle
- SPORTS+ Partners - Hôpital de la Tour
Medical team
Dr Boris Gojanovic - Specialist in Sport & Exercise Medicine (and President of SEM Switzerland), general internal medicine, manual medicine, member of Swiss Medical Association (FMH)Dr Anne Duraffourg - Specialist in General Internal Medicine, Specialist in Sports Medicine
Valérie Ducommun - Dietitian, ES ASDD (Swiss Association of Registered Dietitians), specializing in sports nutrition
Sports Physiotherapist team
Kevin Goudard
Christopher Hartmann
Sonia Kleinmann
Virginie Alder
Laurent McAnulty
Melvyn Raven
Xavier Dallemagne
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