Some of Illawarra’s future surf life saving champions have had the opportunity to learn from the sport’s best coaches at a junior development camp in Sydney.
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Bulli’s Jade van Duin, Chelsea Jones, and Caleb Sharman, and Thirroul’s Dayle Air attended a number of training and information sessions across the intensive three day camp at the Sydney Academy of Sport in Narabeen.
Air credited the camp for providing her with the opportunity to develop her board riding skills in a unique environment. Air, and the 42 other attendees from across the state, were coached by some of the state’s best coaches, including senior NSW coach Jim Walker.
The coaches provided a fresh perspective to the athletes and were able to provide tailored feedback on the technical aspects of the sport and assist in the development of new skills.
“I learned the skill of rolling towards the part of the wave that is the strongest, and I also really enjoyed getting to do a track session and spend some time doing a board session in the lake,” she said.
The junior development camp was set up by Surf Life Saving NSW with the goal of providing promising 12 to 14-year-olds with the opportunity to develop their water skills and improve their education away from the water in fields such as nutrition and recovery.
Surf Life Saving NSW development office Tim Piper described the camp as a big success and is hopeful that attendees will be able to translate the lessons of the camp into improved performance.
“It’s been a really positive experience to introduce these young athletes to this type of environment and to see them make friends with their age group rivals.” Piper said.
The athletes were also exposed to the increasingly important field of sports psychology. London Olympian Jo Brigden delivered a lecture on the importance of goal setting and Mark Webster from Winning Edge discussed the role of psychology and maintaining a positive frame of mind on performance.