Event Group Development Squad sessions take place approximately every eight weeks and aim to develop skill and physical preparedness specific to each event group and improve athlete and coach understanding of how training works. The sessions demonstrate a periodised approach and equip coaches and athletes with a curriculum that will support coaching and training in their club environment.
Athletics NI will host expert coaches to deliver elements of these squads. Our vision is to widen the pool of talent, create a more competitive environment for selection into the Youth Academy Programme and to provide broader experiences that will retain athletes within the wider sport system. We aim for athletes to enter the Youth Academy with a higher level of skill and improved performance behaviours as well as channelling more athletes into coaching, volunteering, support and club roles.
Event Group Squads and camps are open to athletes (aged 14-21 years old) who have shown they will benefit from the activities delivered through the Athletics Northern Ireland Development Programme. Athletes and coaches will also be able to access programme content remotely via NIFutures.com. Such provision is intended to cast the net as wide as possible to ensure athletes that mature late are still able to learn key skills relevant to achieving senior success.
Upcoming Event Group Sessions:
Sprints & Hurdles-Sunday 19th November 2018
On Sunday 19th November the Sprints & Hurdles squad session will take place at Ulster University Jordanstown 10am-12.30pm. The Sprints & Hurdles squad, led by Athletics NI coaches Tom Reynolds and Dean Adams, will focus on acceleration skills leading up to timed 20m accelerations and measured standing long jumps. The second part of the session will have a choice of Max Velocity drills and technical stride work or a technical hurdles session.
Online registration is now open and attendance at a single event squad (Sprints & Hurdles or Throws) costs £12 or a total of £20 for both Sprints & Hurdles and Throws.
This athlete fee covers the attendance of the coach-athlete pair. Coaches attending without an athlete may attend free of charge.Multi eventers signing up to attend Sprints & Hurdles and Throws will have a healthy lunch included in their sign up fee and delivered to Ulster University. At each event group squad, coaches who sign up are invited to to share in an informal lunchtime coach networking opportunity and technical discussion.
Throws-Sunday 19th November 2018
On Sunday 19th November a throws session focusing on drills and skills for Javelin & Discus will take place 2pm-5.30pm, also at UU with Laura Kerr & North Down based Discus coach Paul Kirkpatrick. With Olympian Goldie Sayers and International Athlete & Coach Zane Duquemin both scheduled to deliver at our second throws squad in January 2018 these squads provide a great opportunity for athletes and coaches to establish a network this winter and prepare for a successful season in 2018.
Online registration is now open and attendance at a single event squad (Sprints & Hurdles or Throws) costs £12 or a total of £20 for both Sprints & Hurdles and Throws.
This athlete fee covers the attendance of the coach-athlete pair. Coaches attending without an athlete may attend free of charge. Multi eventers signing up to attend Sprints & Hurdles and Throws will have a healthy lunch included in their sign up fee and delivered to Ulster University. At each event group squad, coaches who sign up are invited to to share in an informal lunchtime coach networking opportunity and technical discussion.
NI & Ulster Endurance Squad-Sunday 10th December 2017
Open Endurance Training Days run in conjunction with the Ulster & NI Endurance Squads and are currently available to any endurance athlete living in Ulster who is born between the 1st January 1999 and 31st December 2002.
Following the successful first instalment of the 2017/2018 NI & Ulster Endurance Squad in September, Athletics NI are pleased announce the second date for this year’s NI & Ulster Endurance Development Squad.
The single day squad will take place on Sunday 10th December 2017 at Ulster University Jordanstown from 9.30am-5.00pm.
The theme of the second camp will be TRAIN, RECOVER, ADAPT. We have an exciting timetable planned including physiology workshops and training sessions to understand how the energy systems work and how to train them. This will include an interval session where you will match the intensity and time of the rep with your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate and lactate levels where time allows. We will also look at recovery and nutrition strategies that will enhance adaptation to the training. The intention is to help inform your next block of training, challenge your thinking about the aims and purposes of your sessions and plan them accordingly.
The cost for attending the first squad session which includes catering will be £30. There are a maximum of 30 places for boys and 30 places for girls available. Bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis. Athletes and coaches who are eligible to attend can book and pay through our online booking system.