IRFU Ulster Fitness Workshop A Big Hit

There was an outstanding turnout of 91 coaches from all over the province of Ulster and the surrounding areas for the IRFU/Ulster Rugby fitness workshop. It is one of a series of workshops run in each province in the first quarter of the year in conjunction with the provincial fitness staff.

The workshop was aimed at coaches working at all levels from minis to adult. The event was held in the new stand at Ravenhill which had perfect facilities for such a large crowd.

The evening started with Des Ryan, IRFU Fitness Education Manager, outlining the most appropriate methods to develop 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 finished the evening off 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 was both theory and interactive based. It was of great use to coaches who wanted to know the most appropriate and practical method to develop young and old player.

The workshop was ideal for coaches who wanted to introduce something new and challenging to their training.

Topics covered on the night were as follows:

Topic 1 – Improving Function, Speed, Strength & Power in Young Players
Presenter – Des Ryan (IRFU Fitness Education Manager)

Topic 2 – Exercises for the Ulster Sub-Academy Player
Presenter – Chris Shields (Ulster Rugby Sub Academy Fitness Coach)

Topic 3 – Programme design for the Ulster Academy Player
Presenter – Kevin Geary (Ulster Rugby Academy Fitness Coach)

Coaches were advised to continue their development by attending the following courses:

• IRFU Certified Conditioning Coach Course
• IRFU/ IAWLA Weightlifting Level 1

For more information, please follow this link – https://www.irishrugby.ie/468_81.php.

When the coach has the above completed, they are informed about the Setanta College courses to further develop their fitness coaching competences.

• Resistance Training & Weight Training for Sport
• Physical Fitness & Conditioning for Sport

For more information, please log on to www.setantacollege.com.

Next Workshop:

Leinster  – check back for more details soon.