Culture Change and Mindset the focus of National Junior XC Camp

Culture Change and Mindset the focus of National Junior XC Camp

A three-day national endurance squad training camp in Limerick on August 21-23 got preparations for the European Cross Country Championships underway with the focus very much on changing the culture of Irish distance running.

The squad of 24 athletes that included leading juniors such as Kevin Mulcaire and Hope Saunders  and some u23 athletes met at the University of Limerick campus on Friday morning to set up camp under the guidance of Steve Macklin, Joe Ryan, Geraldine Nolan and cross country legend Catherina McKiernan who has been brought on board this year.

Day 1 on camp

After registering and a team meeting, the group went out for a run followed by drills and strides. A break for lunch and relaxation was followed by the first workshop of the camp by David Passmore of the Irish Institute of Sport.

Passmore spoke about his experiences coaching the Irish & UK elite hockey teams from small beginnings and changing their mindset and performance into a high performance unit. Passmore challenged the athletes into what “high performance” and "excellence" actually meant and how they can raise their level.

The emphasis was on consistency of training and getting every aspect right of an athlete’s lifestyle as opposed to training hard at the camp for three days and then letting your standards drop in the interim period. This was explained in the visual of the “iceberg affect.” Short-term training is the tip of the iceberg but for proper breakthroughs in performance it’s about the process and discipline to train and rest over a long period of time. That will result in the submerged performance of the iceberg.  

The talk also focused on decision-making, confidence and leadership whereby the athletes dictate the culture and standards that are set.

Another easy run followed the talk with the athletes then cooking their meals. Catherina McKiernan, multiple world cross country silver medallist and European champion, then took a question and answer session to round out the evening.

McKiernan spoke openly and honestly on her beginnings in the fields of Cavan and her first taste of success at the All Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships. Routine, structure and discipline with minimal distraction wasn’t a chore in order to compete at the highest level – she won her first world cross country silver medal at the age of 21 in Boston.  

The importance of physiological testing in Trinity College was paramount under the tutelage of her coach Joe Doonan.  However, she did also say that the young athletes should question and have an input on their training. The training for her cross country success centred around a lot of plyometric bounding, 3 minute hilly repeats on Cavan and Slieve Russell golf course, a 20 minute threshold run and kilometre intervals on the track.

Day 2: Positive thinking, mindset and plenty of training

An action-packed Saturday started with the most important thing of all: a morning run. Afterwards the athletes got their breakfast and split into two groups for a sports yoga workshop in the UL sportshall with a big focus on hip & spine mobility.

Darragh Droog, Director of the Altitude Gym Limerick, led two separate strength and conditioning sessions at the Delta Sports Dome focusing mainly on technique and then pushing on the session.

Catherina McKiernan did her second workshop in the evening which focused on the mindset going into races and the importance of positive thinking. McKiernan gave them some insights into how to prepare and handle nerves for racing and getting the best out of yourself. She asked the athletes about their own preparations and mindset and then went about giving them tools to put into practice. The addition of the distance running legend gave an extra edge to the camp.  

Long Run Sunday and Debrief

The Sunday long run rounded out the successful camp followed by a debrief on what was learned and enforcing the positive culture for change, the need to develop positive behaviour patterns coupled with consistent training to get into good physical condition. Steve Macklin (National Junior Endurance Coach) spoke about how the standards have been raising with the likes of Hope Saunders and Kevin Mulcaire showing the away in terms of improved track times. Macklin said: "This camp was about starting off the European XC Championship preparations in a positive manner and really delving into what "Excellence" and "High Performance" looks like. We are starting to raise the bar on the track with junior/youth performances and now we need to raise the bar over XC. We have some great talent in this country, we must continue to develop it in the right way and continue to up skill all our coaches."

The next regional camps take place on the weekends of Sep 18th-20th and 25th-27th and the next national camp takes place on October 10th.