Sprints & Throws Squads on Monday 28th May 2018
09 May 2018
Athletics NI can now announce the third of our Sprints and Throws event group squads for coaches and athletes. These squads are designed to deliver appropriate physical & technical preparation sessions for athletes and provide development opportunities, networking and planning support for coaches.
On Monday 28th May, the Sprints squad session will take place at Mary Peters Track, Belfast from 2pm-5pm, led by Athletics NI coach Dean Adams with special guest Alan Kennedy - coach to some of Northern Ireland’s top sprinters including Christian Robinson (Irish U23 100m Champion – 10.64 PB) and Dean Adams (Former Irish 60m Champion – 6.82 PB).
On the same day between 5.30-8.30pm the Throws squad session focussing on Javelin will be led by Athletics NI Coach Development & Physical Preparation Lead-Laura Kerr (javelin coach to IUAA Record Holder Jack Magee-65.95m and NI U20 Javelin record holder Kate O’Connor-48.61m.)
The Sprints Squad will begin with a brief recap on Acceleration Mechanics (covered in the previous Event Group Squad Day) and then focus to a more in depth look at transitioning to Maximum Velocity Running (featuring videos of different NI athletes) which will be especially useful for those shifting from 60m during the indoor season to 100m at outdoor competitions in the coming months. After a warm-up, featuring drills to benefit Max Velocity Running, speed gates (Brower Timing System) will be set up so athletes can obtain a flying 20m time from 20m-40m (re-test after previous Event Group Day). Alan Kennedy will then deliver a Speed Endurance based PowerPoint presentation, detailing key principles, common mistakes, and example sessions to allow coaches to get the most out of their athletes whilst optimising recovery. After a re-warm-up, the athletes will be coached by both Alan and Dean during sprints over 80m focusing on Speed Endurance with speed gates set-up to obtain a flying 60m time from 20m-80m.
The Throws Squad will focus on competition preparation for javelin beginning with a technical analysis and video review of the men’s javelin qualifying rounds at the recent Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast.
At the last event group throws squad with Goldie Sayers and Zane Duquemin there was strong focus on event specific drills and physical preparation. Goldie discussed the critical elements of the javelin throw with a focus on run way rhythm. At the upcoming squad, Laura will discuss competition preparation and warm up with Irish Universities Champion & Record Holder Jack Magee explaining his approach to competition including tapering, javelin selection and call rooms at championships. The throwing session that follows will concentrate on the run up for javelin and specifically transferring speed from the runway into the throw.
Online registration is now open and attendance at a single event squad costs: £12 or £20 for both squads which will include snacks (healthy wraps and fruit.) Multi-event athletes are encouraged to attend both Sprints & Throws elements.
The athlete fee covers the attendance of the coach-athlete pair. Coaches attending without an athlete may attend free of charge but should notify Athletics NI by advance email to laura@athleticsni.org