How Salesian College Sunbury Built an AFL Sports Academy
A structured pathway for students who are serious about sport
When Josh Marino joined Salesian College Sunbury, there was no formal pathway for students who wanted to pursue sport alongside their studies. He set out to change that — designing an AFL Academy from the ground up. A key component of the program is a partnership with IVET to offer student-athletes a nationally recognised qualification.
In 2026, the Salesian AFL Academy launched its first cohort of 20 student-athletes, with IVET’s Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation complementing athlete development. The qualification offers students nationally recognised training and a genuine first step toward a career in sport or recreation. It also gives the academy a framework that is built to grow.
A program that puts students first, in and out of the classroom
The academy’s hybrid structure includes three timetabled sessions a week and two outside of school hours. In-class sessions cover theory, AFL skills and strength and conditioning. The outside-class sessions add the volume and intensity of a high-performance environment without displacing other subjects. IVET’s program has been thoughtfully woven throughout, with learning and assessment embedded rather than bolted on at the end.
Training loads are periodised across the season, so students are supported, not overloaded, during their club commitments. The result is a program that takes sport seriously and treats academic progression with the same care.
Opening doors students would not otherwise have
Beyond the IVET partnership, Josh has added a range of industry partners that strengthen the program further. The Essendon Football Club delivers on-site clinics and a Marvel Stadium Careers Day; the Calder Cannons provide talent pathways and a bridge to elite environments; and Life Saving Victoria delivers the Pool Lifeguard qualification.
These are not just logo partnerships. They give students direct exposure to careers in sport and recreation, strengthening the students’ learning journeys.
A program designed to run without its founder
From the beginning, Josh’s goal was to build something the school would own, not something that depended on one person to hold it together. Every session plan, delivery schedule and operational procedure was documented with a clear question in mind: if the coordinator changed tomorrow, what would the next person inherit?
“It’s not my program. It’s the school’s. The question I kept asking was: how can this be sustainable for 50 years?”
Josh Marino, Sports Academy Coordinator, Salesian College SunburyPart of the answer is IVET. The Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation is structured around a sport-agnostic core, which means the same qualification framework that underpins the AFL Academy can sit beneath a future basketball, netball or cricket program without rebuilding from scratch. A new sport needs a specialist trainer, not a new RTO partnership. That flexibility is built in from day one.
What started as one teacher’s idea has become a program the school can scale, the students can rely on, and a future coordinator can pick up and run with. The early signs are already there: students are engaging more seriously with their studies, partnerships are deepening, and the framework is ready to extend to other sports when the time comes.
That is what a well-designed VET program looks like: a teacher with a clear vision, an RTO that supports it, and a structure built to outlast both.
What other schools can take from this
The right RTO partnership adds credibility. IVET’s qualification framework provided the program with structure and a clear qualification outcome.
Make it part of the timetable. When a program sits inside school hours, it signals to students, parents and staff that it is core schooling, not an add-on.
Document for the next coordinator, not yourself. Session plans and operational procedures built for handover let the program survive staff changes and expand into new sports.
Ready to build something like this at your school?
IVET works with schools across Australia to design and deliver VET programs that are built to last. Talk to our team about what is possible.