Junior Development Camp, WA, 2013

22/7/13

I should really have updated my blog before now; however since my trip to WA and just a couple of days in Melb before taking off to Townsville I am only just catching up!

The Junior Development Camp held in Pemberton last week tuned out to be a huge success.  Tony Tucknott did a fantastic job in organising the whole thing and I was thrilled to be a part of it.  Tony had asked me to take on the role as one of the coaches for the camp back in March this year.  Knowing Tony’s reputation as such an awesome event organiser I knew that he would put together a great weekend and I immediately agreed to make the trip and be a part of it.   As it panned out, the weekend was an even greater success than I’d envisaged.

The 3-day weekend turned into a coach’s level 1 course as well as Junior Camp.  This worked in brilliantly, as the 12 aspiring coaches were able to get through all the theory work on day one and then practice their coaching skills over the remainder of the weekend.  While my main role was to present some of the course info as well oversee much of the skills sessions, I was able to learn a thing or 2 from the other coaches attending.  In particular it was an eye-opener to see first-hand the techniques employed by Australia’s National Junior coach, Tim Ellison.  Tim had made the trip down to Pemberton, all the way from the Northern Territory. Tim is a wealth of knowledge and played an integral part in co-ordinating both the coaches’ course and junior camp.  It was also fantastic to have the expertise of local downhill legends Rex Dubois and Dion Baker.  These guys were able to demonstrate their awesome skills both on the track and in the air and they also proved to be great teachers. The improvement shown by the juniors over the weekend was quite remarkable!

It was easy to see why Pemberton Camp School was chosen as location for the Development Camp. Located within the Karri Forest  of Pemberton the cabins and dining hall facilities were surrounded by a network of some of the most fantastically well-groomed trails you will find anywhere in Australia. Paul Neve is responsible for much of the trail building over in WA. He is a perfectionist when it comes to building the berms and jumps and knows exactly what we as mtbikers are looking for in a trail! Surrounding the Camp School, was  a world-class 5km cross country loop, a couple of crazy down-hill runs with jumps and wooden berms (these were particularly scary as they were verging on vertical), and skills and jumps tracks to test even the best!

Throughout the weekend the juniors were split into small groups of 4-5 and rotated from one coach to the next, concentrating on a different set of skills at each station. Those completing their level 1 qualification were able to help plan and co-ordinate each of these sessions.  Juniors were also treated to presentations on nutrition, race preparation, bike mechanics and time management strategies. We made sure to also squeeze in a group ride up to the well-known Gloucester tree and from there completed 3 runs of the fast and flowy Munda Biddi trail descent.  On the 2^nd run, the juniors set off in groups of 4-5 and raced each other down the descent. A little competition certainly tests out the skills that little bit more and there were a few cuts to clean out at the end of this session.  Despite the injuries though, I think all of us returned to camp with a grin from ear to ear!

Overall the weekend proved a huge success with 19 promising juniors as well as 12 aspiring coaches walking away with the knowledge and skills needed to continue the growth of our sport for many years to come! Huge thanks must be given to the Department of Sport and Recreation and the Perth MTB Club, for getting the funds together to enable this camp to take place, to the sponsors Target Trek MTB Team, Bontrager and Shotz for the gift packs and prizes and of course to Tony Tucknott for acting on his vision and organising the whole weekend!

Sarah Tucknott getting some air!