Athletics Ireland is pleased to announce the roll out of the Regional Junior Endurance Performance Squads starting in September. This initiative is being led by Steve Macklin National Junior Endurance Coach Athletics Ireland and a team of regional endurance coaches with the aim to further enhance the development of endurance running in the country. Following on from a successful model that had been running in Munster the past number of years which has helped with the development of some of some of our high performance athletes such as Sean Tobin, Louise Shanahan and Kevin Mulcaire, this model continues to be rolled out in each province for the 2016-2017 season.
Key aspects of the performance squads will include the following:
- Weekend Training Camps for athletes & their personal coaches
- Educational workshops incorporating key areas such as S&C, Sports Psychology, Nutrition & Hydration, Planning, Goal Setting, Lifestyle, Biomechanics
- A strong training emphasis at these camps with athletes working together in groups
- A chance for personal coaches and lead coaches to interact and share training ideas
- Regular communication re development & high performance initiatives and competitions
- Mentoring support for personal coaches through the lead coaches & National Junior Endurance Coach
The first Munster Camp will be held Sep 23rd-25th at Banna Beach Co Kerry
Leevale selections for the Munster Junior Endurance Performance Squad are:
- Ben Smith
- Charlie O’Donovan
- Matt Murnane
- Conor O’Driscoll
- Tommy Connolly
- Alanah Neff
- Kaitlyn Coffey
- Rhona Pierce
All selected athletes must now register their place on the squads. Any athlete that hasn’t registered at this point may be replaced by the athletes on the reserve list. We would very much appreciate people’s support on making sure this registration process is done quickly and the full details requested are filled in. The registration cost is €20 per athlete. Following this the head coaches from each region will then communicate all details regarding the first camp with the personal coaches/athletes via group email. Please ensure that the athlete’s e mail, a parent’s email and the coach’s email are provided on the registration form.
Any queries should be directed to the National Junior Endurance Coach Steve Macklin at 0876335565 or stevenmacklin@athleticsireland.ie.