Performance Support Pathway Pupils Visit St George's Park
At the end of April, Year 12 pupils involved in the Performance Support Pathway enjoyed a visit to St Georges Park High Performance Centre (the training centre for England Football). It was an opportunity for these aspiring athletes to experience a high performance environment and get a taste of the facilities and opportunities available at this amazing facility.
The group had the chance to run out onto the indoor Wembley replica pitch, followed by a speed testing session on the athletics track which runs the length of this facility. This was followed up with some aerobic testing in the form of the dreaded Bronco, but also with an opportunity to experience some of the dynamic re-hab activities which the England footballers undertake when visiting the centre in this capacity.
After lunch the boys were able to visit the Performance Gym, and design and complete a weight training session. They also had the opportunity to undertake some jump tests (CMJ) on the electronic jump mat and compare their scores to some of the England players. We were a little way off the record of 60cm!
After a demanding day they finished off with a session in the recovery pool. After a number of mobilisation activities (plus some ‘pool basketball’) and the experience of running on an under-water treadmill, they also got to ‘enjoy’ the hot and cold contrast pools. The warm pool looked very enjoyable (36oC), but the cold pool (11oC) was a little more of a challenge!
Jai, Luca, Tom, George, Henry, James, Tom, Ollie, Ollie, Ruben, Monty, Freddie, Charlie all enjoyed the day at this incredible facility, and hopefully it left them with some lasting memories, but more importantly a taste of something for them to aspire to in their own sports in the future!
