Professional coaches will teach Aussie kids school sport under a plan to get them off the couch

Professionals .. school kids will be coached in sport by pros under a multi-million dollar government plan.

PRIMARY school kids will get access to professional sports coaching at school under a $100 million government program to get Australians off the couch and onto the sports field.

Currently just 25 per cent of the population — and only 50 per cent of kids — take part in organised sport even though 4.5 million say they want to.

Sports Minister Sussan Ley will Wednesday unveil a 12 point program to support and build resources in organised sport to get more people playing.

Ms Ley said 13,000 Aussies die each year because of physical inactivity, while one-in four children were now considered overweight or obese at risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The previous Labor Government set up a Winning Edge program to improve performance at an elite level in sport after the London Olympic Games in 2012.

But Ms Ley says it is not good enough for the government just to focus on elite athletes.

“It’s essential for the health of the nation that the Australian Government has a balanced approach to sport that focuses on grassroots participation not just elite results,” Ms Ley says.

“Too many Australians, young and old, are living sedentary lives and, frankly, it’s killing us.”

Health kick ... schools will be able to apply for $100 million in grants to pay for sports coaches under a school sport program.

Under the program Play. Sport. Australia to be launched Wednesday, schools will be able to apply for grants to pay for professional coaches or train their own teachers as coaches.

These coaches will provide expert tuition in sporting skills in schools, before, during and after school and schools will be linked to local sports organisations.

The program run by the Australian Sports Commission will replace the Active After-school Communities (AASC) program, which concluded in December 2014.

Schools taking part will get annual funding to provide up to three terms of sport-based activity for children, access to online sporting resources and lesson plans.

The program focuses on teaching kids as they play games rather than drilling them in individual skills.

Active ... St Michael's Primary School student Meron 11, in sport class.

Up to 32 major sports including the AFL, National Rugby League, Cricket Australia, Football Federation Australia and Basketball Australia are part of the program.

From May schools will be able to go to the website Sporting Schools to find professional coaches in their area willing to take part.

Ms Ley says the new initiative is as much a call to action for parents as their children.

“Essentially, we need more people up off the couch, putting down the remote and getting active,” she said.

Under the strategy there will be a new a new annual national sports participation survey to measure participation and trends.

An interactive website will support all schools and clubs to run their own participation program and search for local coaches and sporting program providers

The need for new sporting facilities in growth regions will be identified and individual sports will be encouraged to build and train a coaching workforce to deliver sport in the community.

FACTS

* 13,000 deaths are attributed to physical inactivity

* A financial benefit of $434 million to the economy if physical inactivity could be reduced by 15 per cent

* 77 per cent of children spend their spare time watching television

* 23 per cent of boys and 31 per cent of girls aged 12 had borderline or elevated insulin resistance putting them at risk diabetes

* 20 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls had elevated blood cholesterol levels putting them at risk heart disease.