from Athletics Northern Ireland

Athletics NI Regional Development Squads got underway over the weekend (20th &21st September 2008) across Northern Ireland. Squads were held in Mary Peters Track Belfast, Bangor, Antrim and Londonderry with over 150 young inspiring athletes aged 12 and 13 taking part.

The athletics development squads consist of 6 training days between September and April, concluding with a Competition in April/May 2009. These training sessions include a one hour generic session and an hour of event specific training. The generic sessions range from a dynamic warm up & strength and conditioning to an educational talk from an elite athlete on competition preparation.

These squads are designed to help young people to develop their athletics skills with the help of some of the country’s top coaches and athletes. Some of these young athletes have only had the opportunity to try athletics for a couple of months during the summer term in school so this squad is giving them the opportunity to develop their interest. For the athletes who may already have joined a club it gives them an opportunity to meet other like minded young athletes, maybe try a new event or pick up a few extra training pointers.

Heather Martin
heather@niathletics.org

• coaching