A total of 91 coaches came from all over Ulster and the surrounding areas to attend the IRFU/Ulster Rugby fitness workshop
It was one in a series of workshops taking place in each province in conjunction with the provincial fitness staff. The workshop was aimed at coaches working at all levels from Mini Rugby to the Adult game. The event took place in the new stand at Ravenhill, which lent itself perfectly for such a large crowd.
The evening began with Des Ryan outlining the most appropriate methods of developing players at all stages of the long term player development pathway and also examining the benefits of functional assessment for young players. Chris Shields then took the coaches through a very entertaining and informative presentation on the most appropriate content for young players with a low training age. Kevin Geary ended the evening with an eye-opening insight into the high level training methods used by the Ulster Academy in developing players with a high training age.
The workshop contained both theoretical and interactive elements and proved extremely useful to coaches wanting to learn more about the most appropriate and practical methods to develop young and old players. The workshop was ideal for coaches who wanted to introduce something new and challenging to their training.
Topics covered on the night included 'Improving Function, Speed, Strength and Power in Young Players', 'Exercises for the Ulster Sub-Academy Player' and 'Programme design for the Ulster Academy Player'.
At the end of the workshop, the guest speakers advised coaches to continue their development by considering attending the IRFU Certified Conditioning Coach Course and the IRFU/ IAWLA Weightlifting Level 1. On completion of these courses, they are free to attend the courses offered by Setanta College to further develop their fitness coaching competences.
The IRFU thanked Ulster Rugby for providing their facilities, and Chris Webster for his help in organising and promoting the event. Thanks went also to Matthew McGuire (Ulster Rugby Sub Academy Assistant Fitness Coach) for his help in preparing the presentations and his help on the night.
