17 Coaches from 10 Sports attend a 2 day Institute of Sport High Performance Coach Education Conference
| High performance plays a critical role in helping athletes and coaches produce maximum performance on the international stage. When the coaches on the Institute's High Performance Coach Education programme requested a seminar focusing on performance science and how it impacted on coach and athlete performance, the Institute of Sport responded by organizing a two-day conference showcasing best practice applied examples and how they impact on athlete and coach performance. | |
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Ciaran Ward, Coach, Judo participating in a workshop exercise |
Day one opened with an in-depth look at high performance culture. Key performance enablers like the athlete's attitude and key performance blockers such as a lack of clear goals were identified as critical elements of that culture. 'Central to make up of any high performance culture is high standards, good attitude and performance centered behaviours' explained Dave Passmore, the Irish Hockey Association's High Performance Director. Martin McElroy, High Performance Director with Rowing Ireland, presented a case study outlining how its high performance system worked. 'Honesty plays a critical role in Rowing Ireland's high performance culture. We are 100% focused on the factors and processes that allow our boats to go faster. Central to the success of our high performance system is the identification of clear gaps that exist between our actual performance state and our desired performance state.'
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The second half of day one involved workshop progammes on the theme of applied performance science and how it impacts on coach and athlete performance. Toni Rossiter, the Institute of Sport's lead physiologist, collaborated with Jim Laverty, a participant on the Pursuit of Excellence programme, on an applied case study highlighting the impact of physiological support on the Irish Paralympic Swim team. The study focused on the proven benefits of having a swim-down protocol as well as an athlete profile system enabling coaches to develop a clearer understanding of the physical capacities within their athlete talent pool. |
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Martin McElroy, Performance Director, Rowing Ireland delivering a workshop on 'high performance culture'. |
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| Jamie Costin, another member of the Pursuit of Excellence programme, concluded the first day with a presentation on the theme of altitude training. Jamie used his grant aid from the Institute of Sport to travel to Australia to complete an applied research project with the Australian Institute of Sport | |
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Jamie Costin, Pursuit of Excellence Programme Participant delivering a presentation on the theme of 'Altitude Training'. |
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Day two concentrated on the two main performance science themes: performance lifestyle and performance analysis. Daragh Sheridan, the Institute of Sport's Head of Performance Skills, stated 'I was delighted to present a case study in partnership with Darren O Neill and Billy Walsh from the IABA High Performance Boxing Programme. Darren's ability to manage a career in teaching whilst competing at the highest level in Boxing is an excellent example of great inter disciplinary team work between Darren's employer, the Institute of Sport and the IABA's high performance support team led by Billy Walsh, Head Coach'. Continuing on the theme of inter disciplinary performance support, Alan Swanton, Lead Performance Analyst with the Institute of Sport, delivered two case studies highlighting how performance analysis impacts the design and delivery of evidence based coaching. Ronald Claes, Swim Ireland's Head Coach and Billy Walsh, Head Coach of the IABA's High Performance Boxing Programme, delivered two applied case studies demonstrating the effects of performance analysis on coach and athlete performance. |
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Building on the importance of effective team work, the Institute of Sport's Dr. Rod McLaughlin, Director of Performance Medicine and Dr. Phil Moore, Director of Performance Services, delivered a workshop on inter disciplinary team function across a performance science team. The workshop focused on how inter disciplinary performance support teams inter-connect with coaches and athletes to provide the best possible high performance support environment. High performance coaches enjoying a workshop delivered by Alan Swanton, Lead Performance Analyst, Irish Institute of Sport Clear roles and responsibilities highlighting clear boundaries were some of the critical elements identified in order to provide high quality high performance support across a multi disciplinary performance support process. The workshop was concluded with a focused session on 'Training design using periodization'. Giles Warrington, Sport Science Adviser with the Olympic Council of Ireland delivered an interactive workshop focus on the critical elements relating to the design and delivery of training in a high performance context. |
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