Munster Junior Endurance Performance Squad Camp Report
The first Munster Junior Endurance Performance squad camp of the 2016/2017 season took place last weekend at the Banna Beach Hotel complex. There were 40 athletes in attendance and all were highly motivated and brought a great work ethic to the camp for the entire 3 days.
Friday evening saw the athletes arrive at Banna Beach and check into the houses and then go for an easy run followed by some hurdle mobility drills, mobility work and strides on the all weather pitch. That night a team meeting outlined the structure of the weekend and the expectations around the entire camp as well as an introduction of all athletes & coaches.
Saturday morning the real work began for the group with various tempo sessions on the beach followed by strides. There were 5 workout groups and all worked very well together showing great teamwork. Following the workouts the group headed back to the houses for recovery food before starting their recovery in the pool. Joe O Connor then held a very informative & interactive performance nutrition workshop with the group looking into ways to work out protein/carb/fluid intake for an individual athlete and answering various questions from the group. With an afternoon to relax the athletes met at the all weather pitch again in the evening for core, hurdle mobility, glute/hip & balance work to finish off a great days training. That night there was a fun athletics quiz consisting of 6 different rounds and a close battle ensued before a winning team was decided.
Sunday morning it was time for some activation drills before embarking on the traditional long run which was followed by hurdle mobility drills & strides. Then it was clean up time and some relaxation time in the pool before the final workshop of the camp. Here coaches Steve Macklin & Pat Hogan outlined the international competition opportunities for 2017 and the qualifying procedure for each. The carding structure was also explained to the athletes. It was rounded off with a recap from the weekend and the key themes, with all athletes encouraged to take ownership of their own path in athletics and do the simple things right and consistently of long periods of time.
We the coaches would like to thank all the staff at Banna Beach Hotel, they were as always extremely helpful and friendly. We would also say a huge thank you to all the athletes who were highly motivated, in good form, respectful and well behaved for the entire weekend. A special thanks also to Pat Hogan, Steve Macklin, Collette O Riordan, Joan Hough, Frank Hayes, Joe O Connor, David McCarthy and Noel Curtin for their support over the few days. The next camp for the group will be after Christmas.