North Ryde RSL and Ryde Hawks Baseballer, Luc Oishi, is leading the way in his community. He has received a nomination for the 2023 Olympic Changemaker Program and has been recognised for all his hard work!
Sport has always been a conduit to challenge individuals to succeed. From creating friendships, socialising with others, promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering pathways for development, there are a lot of positive benefits to playing sport. For Luc Oishi, the sport of choice is baseball, and it has taught him so much over the years that he now aspires to pass that knowledge along to others.
Luc’s initiatives in mentoring and leadership in his community has led to his Nomination for the Olympic Change-Maker Program. The program recognises secondary students from around the country who demonstrate the Olympic spirit – friendship, sportsmanship & striving for excellence – both on & off the playing field, through leadership & driving positive change in their school & local communities.
Luc was privileged to be nominated by his school PE teachers earlier in the year, and received an invitation to the Olympic Change-Makers Forum. From there he has been selected to attend the National Summit where 25 young leaders from across the country will come together at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for a three-day event.
Having competed across multiple levels of sport, Luc’s baseball resume includes club ball with the North Ryde Rams, representative for the Ryde Hawks and even national representation at the 2023 Senior League World Series, also for Ryde Hawks.
Playing baseball for many years, Luc is very driven, but believes that having a “wholistic approach to life – and learning – is crucial”. With assistance from his school principal, Luc has implemented the “Advanced Learning Pathway” initiative in his community, giving children the opportunity to learn from an older mentor! Luc presented the initiative to sixty NSW secondary school principals at a state wide conference to advise them on how and why the initiative should be implemented this in their own schools, in order to drive success in their students.
One of his many mentees is a young baseball player for the North Ryde Rams, 11-year-old Jenson Koch. When asked what it means to be mentored by Luc, Jenson says “he has been a positive role model for me. He has shown me the importance of self-belief, setting goals for yourself and working very hard to achieve them.”
These invaluable lessons are being instilled through this community program in very simplistic ways. Jenson showed his appreciation for the fact that Luc is “always around to play catch and work with me on my fielding and batting.” Jenson’s father, Dan, believes Luc has been a great mentor and friend. Someone with the same dreams! “As a father, I hope that Jenson grows into a respectful, modest, yet talented young man like Luc” says Dan.
The initiative also offers valuable learning experiences for Luc. At just 16 years old, Luc mentors five kids on a regular basis. When we asked what he has learnt from being a mentor for a younger person, he believes that “communication skills (with both adults and kids) and developing maturity” have been his biggest lessons. He has been taking the time to learn sign language so that he can communicate with a mentee who is hearing impaired. His mentee would regularly attend training with a translator but Luc was dedicated to strengthening the relationship by learning phrases in sign language so that his mentee felt included.
Inclusivity in sport takes on a multitude of meanings for different people. For Luc, it means “not singling anybody out and finding ways to overcome any differences.” His dedication to finding pathways that give everyone the opportunity to have a bit of fun, especially in the area of sports, is to be applauded. When asked how it feels to be nominated for such a highly regarded program, his response was “OVER THE MOON!” Upon receiving the email, there were feelings of pride and even physical excitement that are warranted for such an achievement.
Luc will now travel to Canberra to participate in the National Summit from Tuesday 5th December to participate in the three day national Summit, where he will get to speak with former and current Australian Olympians. The students will be split into focus groups, with Luc’s topic area being “social inclusion” and how the Olympics can be improved in this area. Congratulations Luc and safe travels!
Click here to view Luc’s video submission, as part of the Olympic Change Maker Program: