Squash Wellington General Manager, Russell Henderson, says the pair’s success has been greatly helped by the assistance and support they receive through the HPSNZ Pathways programme, which kicked off in Wellington at the beginning of 2023.
Maiden-Lee faced legendary Kiwi squash player Joelle King in her second round match with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist describing her young opponent as “a good opponent, she played some great shots and I really enjoyed that match.”
Similarly, 19th seeded Oli overcame the 13th seed, Kashif Shuja before going down in the second round to Commonwealth Games team member, Temwa Chileshe. This performance was followed by a win in his age group at the North Island Junior Championships in Whanganui.
Russell says the youngsters are both extremely active, training and competing in as many tournaments as possible, at age group and open level.
And that is where the benefit of the Pathways programme kicks in for up and coming young athletes says Russell.
“There are so many aspects to being an elite athlete and the importance of great coaches and outstanding S&C specialists can’t be overstated. However, the Pathways programme has a strong focus on other aspects such as mental and life skills which are essential to ensure a well-rounded athlete.
HPSNZ’s Wellington region Pathways Co-Lead, Waimarama Taumaunu, says the programme provides aspiring and talented young athletes with a wide range of support and services.
“Young athletes like Maiden-Lee and Oli can access HPSNZ trainers, S&C specialists, mental skills coaches, nutrition modules and medical support if required,” says Waimarama.
“Already since the programme’s introduction at the beginning of the year, our pathway athletes have attended workshops and worked with independent facilitators in the “raise my game” programme.
“They have also been extremely fortunate to be mentored by amazing high performance athletes such as swimmer Lewis Clareburt, para swimmer Mary Fisher and Silver Fern Tiana Metuarau.”
Thirty young pre-high performance athletes across 11 sports are participating in the Wellington region’s Pathway programme which runs through until December 2024, with two further athletes representing two more sports in the pipeline.
