Elite Sport Programme
The Elite Sport Programme supports aspiring athletes in balancing the demands of sporting excellence and academic requirements, whilst allowing them to develop an understanding of key contributing factors in elite sport.
Sixth Form students live, train and learn like a professional athlete whilst following their own bespoke programme which is made up of two key elements: Lifestyle and Training.
The Elite Sport Programme must be selected as a Plus One.
Lifestyle
Making lifestyle choices as a young athlete can be extremely difficult due to the pressures of sporting demands, school work, peer pressure and the need for social down time. The ESP provides support and strategies for athletes to be able to make informed decisions and have a positive impact on their lifestyle choices.
Students are attached to a suitable mentor so that they can have a regular meeting regarding their progress, current pressures and forecasting future clashes between school work and sporting commitments. We have several mentors who have experience of playing elite sport which allows them to not only be positive role models, but also have an understanding of the pressures that elite sport can bring.
Due to high demands on student time with their school and sporting commitments, students work alongside their mentor to develop time management strategies and plan their time effectively. Due to being able to offer sessions such as Strength and Conditioning, physiotherapy and yoga within the school day, thus creating more time for the student in the athlete to either complete the necessary school work or attend external sporting commitment.
Through expertly delivered seminars, students are equipped with the knowledge and understanding in regards to what, when, why and how much they need to consume so that they can make positive choices for themselves.
There are many distractions and pressures that students face away from school and sport. The importance of students having ‘down time’ is essential for them for their own personal well-being. As a result students are educated about the decisions that they make and the impact this may have on their ability to perform at their best. Equipping students with this knowledge is vital in allowing them to make positive decisions within a range of different environments.
Training
To enable students to perform at their athletic best they need to ensure that they understand their end target and the steps that they need to take to achieve this. This includes:
With two highly experienced and qualified Strength and Conditioning coaches, athletes work through a specific 12 month training programme to ensure that they can develop the specific physical capacity they need to fulfil their athletic potential for the most important events of the season.
A vital part, but often neglected part of training, is the need to rest and recover to allow muscles, tendons and ligaments to become stronger. After a heavy weekend of sporting actions, students will undergo a recovery session every week to ensure they are ready to meet the demands of the following week.
Precaution is better than cure. To ensure our students can decrease the threat of injury in their sport they perform a bespoke pre-hab programme to limit high risk injuries.Rehab: If students are unfortunate to be injured, working with a physiotherapist, they will work towards a specific programme to limit the time that they are away from sport.
If students are unfortunate to be injured, working with a physiotherapist, they will work towards a specific programme to limit the time that they are away from sport.
Therapeutic exercise to improve strength, range of motion and endurance and to correct postural and muscle imbalance, joint mobilisation, manipulation and soft tissue massage, as well as stretching and trigger point therapy to reduce stiffness and to relieve pain.
With a minimum of 6 hours of coaching time per week, athletes have a wide variety of sessions including 1-1, small group and team training. Within this programme students develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) working towards short, medium and long term goals to improve their technical and tactical proficiency.
Students are shown and develop coping strategies to be able to perform and make accurate decisions whilst under pressure, deal with errors and mistakes; and how to come back from disappointment.